Far East-US trade volumes rise 17 per cent in 2010

FAR EAST to US container trade increased 17 per cent in 2010 based on data compiled from US Customs shipment data, collected by Zepol Inc.

The 2010 growth is the highest annual rate since 2002 and follows the 14.9 per cent contraction of 2009 with eastbound volumes running to 13.3 million TEU in 2010 against 11.4 million TEU in 2009 and 13.4 million TEU in 2008, said Alphaliner.


Transpacific throughput peaked in August and fell steadily since, dropping sharply in the fourth quarter with December volume growing 2.6 per cent year on year.


The 2010 statistics also showed that there are 25 carriers, providing liner services on the transpacific, with four new carriers joining the trade in 2010. They included The Containership Company that joined in March, PO Shipping in August and TS Lines as well as the Horizon Lines, which joined in December.


Twenty-five carriers accounted for 99.5 per cent of all container movements from the Far East to US. Evergreen and Maersk retained their positions as the two top carriers, but both lost market share, with most of it going to their nearest rivals.


Among major players, APL and Cosco achieved the highest gains of 32 per cent and 49 per cent respectively compared to a year ago. Only Wan Hai volumes fell as the Taiwanese niche carrier scaled down US trade involvement.