There’s an old saying that trade goes where it’s wanted and stays where it’s appreciated.
That was never more true than in November, as President Donald Trump’s trade war sent global container demand up 7.2% across all regions from a year ago — except North America, where import volumes actually fell 3.9%.
Excluding North America, global growth was 10.1%, according to Container Trades Statistics (CTS), which measures volumes at time of loading.
Sub-Saharan Africa led all import growth at 25.5% while North America was the only region to see a decline, off 3.9%. It was the eighth consecutive month of falling year-on-year import volumes, paralleling the progress of Trump’s tariff and trade war.
Growth on major ocean trade routes out of Asia were led by Africa, 34.2%; Indian Subcontinent & Middle East, 20.2%; Latin America, and Europe, 15.5%.
Trans-Pacific volumes to North America fell 4.7%.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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