Descartes releases August Global Shipping Report: July U.S. container import volumes break 2.5M TEUs

Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, released its August Global Shipping Report for logistics and supply chain professionals. The report shows that July container volumes into the U.S. were the third highest on record, eclipsed only by the first- and second-highest volumes in May 2022 and March 2022, respectively. Despite the increased volume in July, port transit time delays showed little impact with largely negligible improvement or decline. The August update of the logistics metrics monitored by Descartes reinforces the strength of U.S. container imports since the start of 2024; however, ongoing conflict in the Middle East, stalled labor negotiations at U.S. South Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports, and reduced port capacity as container volumes slowly return to the Port of Baltimore point to potential global supply chain volatility.

July 2024 U.S. container imports hit 26-month high

July 2024 U.S. container import volumes increased 11.2% from June 2024 to 2,556,180 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), marking the first time in 26 months that volumes have been above the 2.4M TEU level that created port congestion and delays during the pandemic years. (see Figure 1). Versus July 2023, TEU volume was up 16.8% and 16.3% versus pre-pandemic July 2019. The growth in import volume over the first seven months of 2024 is 15.6% higher than the same period in 2019.

In addition, July 2024 volumes increased over June 2024 totals (see Figure 2), which is consistent with peak season patterns in non-pandemic years.

“Despite July imports exceeding the 2.4M TEU level that has stressed ports and inland logistics in the past, overall port transit times in July decreased from June, which is positive for importers,” said Jackson Wood, Director, Industry Strategy at Descartes. “U.S. imports from China reached a record high 1,022,913 TEUs in July (up 14.7% over June and 25% over July 2023), which contributed to the significant growth in the month.”