Editor’s Pick: July U.S. Container Import Volume Maintains Record Trend for 2022 as Port Congestion and Delays Persist

By Talking Logistics

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Pick” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide practical knowledge and advice on timely and important supply chain and logistics topics. In this recent post from Descartes’ blog, Chris Jones analyzes July 2022 data related to U.S. ocean ports and import volumes and highlights what to watch for in the second half of 2022 and offers recommendations to help mitigate the pressure of the ongoing global shipping crisis.

U.S. container import volumes in July 2022 set yet another record versus July 2021. While lower than the all-time record in May 2022, volumes remain above the level that has caused port congestion and delays for the last 17 months. A number of factors, such as a slowing economy, inflation and high fuel costs have not had the anticipated impact on slowing down U.S. container imports. The combination of increased import volumes from China, delays at major East and Gulf Coast ports and the high number of ships waiting off those ports continues to put pressure on supply chain predictability. The August update of the logistics metrics Descartes is tracking continues to point to congested and challenging global supply chain performance for the rest of 2022.