Zepol's Sees Surprise Drop in U.S. Imports in August, but Some Gains in Early September

Zepol Corp. said U.S. import shipment volume for August, measured in TEUs, was down in August from July by 3%, and by 0.3% from August of 2011. The firm said it's unusual to see a drop in imports from July to August because the trend for the past three years has been a spike in August. "The lower August numbers could be due to early holiday purchases in July, which saw abnormally high TEU numbers," said Zepol CEO Paul Rasmussen, but he said it "may also have to do with the potential for labor strikes at east coast ports from the International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance." Zepol's said its U.S. Customs data shows that TEU imports for the first 12 days in September were 10% higher than the 12 days of September in 2011. Most Asian countries had a drop in shipments to the U.S. in August, it said, but Germany was up 1.9% and Italy 3.4%. The Port of Los Angeles decreased from July by 3.9% and the Port of Oakland 7%, but the Port of Savannah had a 7.6% increase.