EnContainer handling through the port of Charleston increased 19.9% on a year earlier in April, according to official port figures. While the handling of empty containers jumped 43.2%, the main driver in absolute terms was a 20.5% rise in imports. That was the 12th straight increase in an otherwise unbroken growth run going back to September 2013.
Panjiva data shows that shipments from China were the most significant area of expansion, with a 41.5% rise. That was well ahead of the national average 16% increase in China/Hong Kong imports, as outlined in Panjiva research of May 8, suggesting a significant win of market share.
Export growth, while still respectable at 8.7%, lagged. That repeated a pattern seen in California and fellow east coast ports in Virginia and suggests room for a further expansion in the U.S. trade deficit.
Source: Panjiva
