New York port sets record container volume in August on strong import demand

Houston — The Port of New York and New Jersey posted its highest ever monthly container volume in August as shipments from Asia continued apace amid strong US consumer demand.

Total throughput at the port was 688,365 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, an increase of 1.3% from its previous record from August 2019, the port said on Sept. 30.

The Port of New York and New Jersey joins the two largest US ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach in achieving all-time high container volumes last month as US consumer spending shifts away from services and towards imported goods.

Imports rose by 7.1% year on year in August to 368,868 TEUs, but total imports on a year-to-date basis were still down by about 5% from the January-August period last year as stronger volumes could not yet compensate for the disruption to global trade by the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year.

Exports in August were 319,497 TEUs in August, a drop of 4.7% from the same month last year. This was related to the 28% decline year-on-year decline in autos moving through the port.

Platts Container Rate 5 – North Asia to East Coast North America – was last assessed at $4,650/FEU, up from $2,500/FEU at the start of the year as shippers paid escalating premiums on the spot market to get their goods to buyers in the US.