The Number One Seat of Ports in the United States Has Been Replaced.

The latest data shows that the historic import and export container handling volume in August pushed the ports of New York and New Jersey in the east of the United States to the No. 1 port in the United States, surpassing the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California in the west of the United States.

Data from the Ports Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) shows that container traffic at the port increased by 24.1% in August compared to August 2019, before the pandemic.

Specifically, in August, the Ports of New York and New Jersey handled a total of 843,191 TEUs, which also marked the "busiest August" in the port's history.

At the same time, the Port of Long Beach in the western United States handled 806,940 TEUs, and the Port of Los Angeles shipped a total of 805,314 TEUs, ranking second and third among U.S. ports, respectively.

Before the epidemic, due to cost considerations, most of the goods imported from Southeast Asia chose to park on the west coast of the United States.

The global container freight index launched by the Baltic Shipping Exchange and Freightos shows that the current freight price from China/East Asia to the West Coast of the United States is $3,441/40-foot container (FEU), and the freight rate from China/East Asia to North Europe is $7,657/FEU. Prices in the East, although falling from their highs, are still more than twice as expensive as those in the West.

Many people in the foreign trade industry said that due to concerns about potential strikes due to labor contract negotiations this summer, cargo owners or carriers made early adjustments to avoid the US-West line, which led to the continuous transfer of trade flows from the US West to the US East.

Previously, the Ports of New York and New Jersey had been the third largest port in the United States and the largest port on the East Coast of the United States. Historical data shows that previously, among all ports on the East Coast, 72% of the cargo chose the ports of New York and New Jersey as the first port of call. The port has also been competitive due to its direct access to the largest consumer market on the East Coast.

Continued growth in logistics has made East Coast and Gulf ports the winners of the current shift in trade flows, and the logistics companies and warehouses serving these ports are also benefiting from the increased containers.

At the same time, volumes in the traditional U.S. import and export gateway to the United States have continued to decline. In August, volumes at the Port of Los Angeles were down 15% from a year earlier and 9% below the five-year average.