Seaborne shipments from Asia to the U.S. have fallen sharply as persistently high inflation has reduced spending by U.S. households on items such as furniture.
According to a US media report on August 23, the latest data released by S&P Global Market Intelligence (S&P Global Market Intelligence) showed that the import volume of US containerized freight in July decreased year-on-year. US containerized imports in July were 2.53 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), down 10% year-on-year and 4% higher than June's 2.43 million TEUs.
It was the 12th consecutive month of year-on-year declines, but the July figure was the smallest year-on-year decline since September 2022, the agency said. From January to July, the import volume was 16.29 million TEU, a decrease of 15% compared with the same period last year.
The July drop was largely due to a 16% annual drop in imports of discretionary consumer goods, S&P said, adding that imports of clothing and furniture were down 23% and 20%, respectively.
In addition, freight rates and prices for new containers both fell to three-year lows as retailers stopped stockpiling as much inventory as they did during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Furniture shipments began to plummet in the summer, with quarterly totals even below 2019 levels.
"That's a number we've seen for almost three years," said Jonathan Gold, NRF's vice president of supply chain and customs policy. "Retailers are cautious, they're watching."
"In some ways, 2023 will look a lot like 2020, when the world economy shut down because of the new crown, and no one knew what the future would hold," added Ben Hackett, founder of Hackett Associates. And wage issues, while high inflation and rising interest rates could trigger a recession."
"While there is no widespread shutdown, it is very similar to the 2020 shutdown."