When Is The Peak Season?

The latest statistics show that in January 2023, the volume of container imports in the United States ushered in a "good start" and rebounded, with a month-on-month increase of 7.2%. Transportation delays at ports on the east coast of the United States also continued to improve.

In more detail, in January 2023, the US container import volume was 2.068 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEU). Although it increased month-on-month, it was still down 16.1% year-on-year compared with January 2022. It was down 0.3 percent in January.

The U.S. economy is a key factor in the growth of container imports, and the U.S. economy is currently showing stronger than expected macroeconomic performance.

Several experts and senior US-line freight forwarders said that looking forward to 2023, the data in the third quarter is more critical. If US retailers are optimistic about the sales prospects in 2023, they will start a large number of replenishment on the basis of "destocking", ushering in a new peak season.

Wang Yong, a professor at the School of International Relations at Peking University and director of the International Political Economy Research Center, believes that the US trade volume in the third and fourth quarters of this year will more clearly reflect the US economy and consumption.

On the one hand, the U.S. is ushering in a peak holiday season for consumption, and on the other hand, it has a lot to do with economic growth, income levels, and employment at that time.