WASHINGTON: Imports at the container ports surrounding New York Harbor grew in November compared with a year earlier, after falling in October during a weak holiday shipping season, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Monday.
Loaded import TEUs — or twenty-foot equivalent units, a common measure of container capacity — rose 4% in November compared with November 2014. In October, the same statistic fell 1.1% compared with a year earlier.
Imports at U.S. ports were lackluster in general from August through October, as high inventory levels and tepid consumer demand kept the usually-busy peak shipping season relatively quiet this year. Shipping companies had predicted that imports would tick up as inventory levels were drawn down during the holiday shopping season. Loaded exports at New York-New Jersey fell 3.7% in November compared with a year earlier, while shipments of automobiles rose 55.3%.
