Descartes Systems Group, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, released its June Global Shipping Report for logistics and supply chain professionals.

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May 2024 U.S. container import volume continued its robust 2024 growth, increasing 6.2% from April and 11.9% when compared to the same month last year.

Imports from China again had a strong month, reaching the second highest monthly volume since January of 2023. Port transit delays continue to improve across the board as there has been little impact on East and Gulf Coast import volumes from either the Panama drought or the Middle East conflict. May’s update of logistics metrics monitored by Descartes reinforces the strength of imports since the beginning of 2024. Despite strong U.S. container imports, the risk of global supply chain disruptions remains high because of ongoing conditions at the Panama and Suez Canals, upcoming labor negotiations at U.S. South Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports, and the Middle East conflict.

Month-over-month and year-over-year, U.S. economy proves to be robust again in May 2024

Versus May 2023, TEU import volume was up 11.9%, continuing to demonstrate exceptional year-over-year performance (see Figure 1). May 2024 U.S. container import volumes moved up from April 2024, increasing 6.2% to 2,346,382 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Figure 1. U.S. Container Import Volume Year-over-Year Comparison

“May was yet another strong month and, for the first five months of 2024, U.S. import container volume is up 15.5% over the same period last year,” said Chris Jones, EVP Industry, Descartes. “Significant increases in imports from China (up 17.6%) in May was the big driver of this growth.”

The June report is Descartes’ thirty-fourth installment since beginning its analysis in August 2021. To read past reports, learn more about the key economic and logistics factors driving the global shipping crisis, and review strategies to help address it in the near-, short- and long-term, visit Descartes’ Global Shipping Resource Center.