Containerized Imports Showed Positive Signs in 2011
A rise in the auto industry and the housing market pushed containerized import cargo traffic up 3 percent in 2011 over the previous year, according to The Journal of Commerce.
The positive figure was helped by an economically strong fourth quarter after some weakness was seen in the fall.
Despite the late-year growth, Mario Moreno, an economist with The Journal of Commerce and its database arm, PIERS, remains cautious about 2012. “The overall economy continues to recover in a stubbornly slow fashion, which makes it highly vulnerable to shocks,” Moreno said.
An uptick in the sale of existing homes led to a 5 percent increase in U.S. furniture imports last year. Growth in the manufacturing sector also pushed auto-parts imports up 19 percent. Requests that empty containers be returned from Mexico for U.S. export and domestic use rose by 264 percent.
“The auto industry cannot, by itself, sustain the import trade, but a steady, self-sustained recovery in home sales is decidedly required to support growth going forward,” Moreno said.
The economist predicted that containerized import traffic would rise 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent in 2012 compared with 2011.—D.B.
