EU-Asia container volume down, but Asia-EU increases

EASTBOUND container volumes from the Europe to Asia posted the their first year-on-year decline in May - 6.3 per cent - a 1.1 per cent drop from April, reported the latest ELAA [European Liner Affairs Association] Newsletter.

Overall the total volume of containers across all trades with Europe in May increased 16 per cent for imports and seven per cent for exports, said the newsletter.


(The ELAA shut its Brussels offices last month, but publishes a monthly statistics newsletter, the contents of which are produced by Container Trade Statistics of Woking, Surrey, a private concern which provided ELAA statistics when organisation was operational.)


Asia-to-Europe westbound trade continued its monthly rise with a 21 per cent year-on-year increase in May - 1.3 per cent up on April`s number. Growth on the India Middle East westbound trade increased 30 per cent.


But this contrasted with the slow growth on the India Middle East eastbound trade in May with only a four per cent year-on-year increase, up 1.7 per cent on April.


Europe-North America trade growth declined eastbound 13 per cent and westbound by 16 per cent in Ma.


For the Europe Australasia and Oceania May posted a monthly year-on-year decline of nine per cent northbound. Southbound trade maintained a growth of 12 per cent.