Descartes Datamyne releases new top U.S. Port Rankings for logistics managers

Descartes Datamyne, a leading global trade database of up-to-date import-export information, recently unveiled its 2019 U.S. Ports Report, providing logistics managers with a new reference tool on U.S. import trade for port authorities, carriers, logistics providers, importers and shippers. Besides ranking the Top 20 U.S. maritime ports by import volumes, measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) , it also offers a look at the countries of origin and top products imported for each port.

Key findings of the 2019 U.S. Ports Report:

• Overall, U.S. import volume increased 7.4% in 2018 vs. 2017, with more than 24 million TEUs imported across maritime ports.
• Despite a sluggish Q1, Los Angeles (ranked #1) increased TEU imports by 3.43% from 2017, and totals amounted to 4.84 million in 2018.
• For the second year in a row, the Port of Mobile has maintained its position among the top U.S ports, this year climbing to 19th.
• The Port of Long Beach, the second most active port in the country, maintained a record pace set in Q1 of 2018, closing out the year with a 7.9% increase in volume over an already record-setting 2017.

Brendan McCahill, Senior Vice President of Trade Data Content at Descartes Datamyne told SCMR in an interview that while Descartes does not have the 2019 Q4 figures yet, in terms of a January to May (full month) comparison of 2019 vs 2018, the growth is 250 thousand containers, of which roughly 160 thousand containers occurred in the first quarter. “In the same time period, January through May, China and Hong Kong as countries of origin, shipped 245 thousand fewer containers in the 2019 period as opposed to 2018, while Vietnam, as country of origin, moved 124 thousand more containers in 2019 than in 2018,” he said.

Top 20 U.S. Ports by TEU Ocean Imports: