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U.S. Imports Down Sharply in November, Zepol Says, Partly Due to Strike

U.S. import volume in November, measured in TEUs (twenty-foot-containers), was down 12.8% from October and another 15.2% from November of last year, Zepol Corp. said. The total number of TEUs imported for the month was 1,245,889, the lowest amount for…

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a November since 2003. Hurricane Sandy on the east coast and labor strikes on the west certainly played a large factor in the import slump, it said. Imports from Asia dropped significantly in November. China was 18.2% lower than October, and South Korea was down 21.1%. Europe actually increased in vessel exports to the U.S. by 4.5% from October. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach both had major decreases in TEUs from October, partly due to labor strikes, Zepol said. The port of Newark and New York was up from October by 1.9%, the only port in the top 10 to see a notable increase for the month, it said. Each of the top 20 ocean carriers had large decreases, Zepol said.