Zepol Reports December Vessel Imports Decrease 8.2%

Vessel Imports Down for December, but Total Imports Up in 2011


MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zepol Corporation, the leading trade intelligence company, reports that U.S. import shipment volume for December, measured in TEUs, decreased 8.2% from November, but increased 1.5% from December of 2010. The total number of inbound shipments decreased 6.5% from November and increased 2.3% from December of last year. For the year of 2011, total TEUs are up 0.98% from 2010.

The Zepol Shipment and TEU chart is available at http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/18488/file/12255.pdf

Key Statistics from this Month's Update:

  1. TEU imports from China decreased this year by 0.75% from 2010, while imports from South Korea rose by 5.3%. Total 2011 imports from Asia did not have a significant change, but dropped a slight 0.5%. Imports from Europe went up in 2011 by 8.5%, partly due to a 12.2% increase seen from Germany and a 19.3% rise from Belgium. South American imports also grew in 2011 by 3.6%, with moderate rises from Chile and Ecuador.
     
  2. The top port for 2011, Los Angeles, exhibited a 1.8% increase in inbound TEUs while the Port of Seattle posted a 14% drop from the previous year. Nearly 16% of 2011 imports entered through the Ports of Newark and New York, which also saw a 2.6% increase from the previous year.
     
  3. For master carriers, the rise in inbound TEU imports was seen by the Mediterranean Shipping Company with an 11% increase and was the second largest carrier this year. At the top of the carriers list was Maersk Line, which slightly decreased from last year by .07%. APL also dropped 7% and was ranked third for the year of 2011.

Methodology:

Zepol's data is derived from Bills of Lading entered into the Automated Manifest System. This information represents the number of House manifests entered by importers of waterborne vessel goods. This is the earliest indicator for trade data available for the previous month's import activity. The data excludes shipments from empty containers, excludes shipments labeled as freight remaining on board, and may contain other data anomalies.

About Zepol Corporation:

Zepol Corporation is a Minnesota-based company working to provide the most complete and up-to-date U.S. trade data through our subscription tools. TradeIQ™ is a U.S. Customs import Bill of Lading database utilized to find information about competitors, suppliers, prospects, and the products that they use, market, or transport. TradeView™ provides U.S. Census data to visualize the U.S. import and export market. ComplianceMonitor™ is a comprehensive tool that proactively alerts users of essential U.S. import trade compliance information.

Zepol's user base includes over 1,000 subscribers representing the leaders of every trade related industry. Our customers are the most important players in the international trade community. Users include leading transportation executives, supply chain professionals, competitive intelligence practitioners, and intellectual property attorneys at:

  • Over 40 of the Fortune 500
  • 4 of the top 10 Port Authorities by Volume
  • 7 of the top 10 Freight Forwarders
  • 2 of the top 3 Fruit Importers
  • 9 of the top 20 Chemical Companies


            

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Zepol Shipment and TEU Trend

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