Waterborne Foreign Trade Containerized Cargo

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As the world's largest trading nation, goods from all over the world flow through U.S. ports daily. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, transportation security concerns have emphasized the vulnerability of U.S. seaports. Of particular concern is international waterborne container import traffic. U.S. foreign waterborne container traffic more than doubled between 1990 and 2001 and was expected to continue similar growth over the next 20 years (figure 1).

Figure 1 - U.S. International Oceanborne Containerized Maritime Activity: 1990-2001

NOTE: TEUs = twenty-foot equivalent units.

SOURCES: (1990-91) American Association of Port Authorities, available at: http://www.aapa-ports.org/pdf/US_Canada_Containers.PDF; (1992-2001) Journal of Commerce, Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), various container data files

In 2001, 18 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods involved in U.S. foreign trade moved through U.S. container ports, up from about 8 million in 1990 (PIERS annual data). On a typical day in 2001, U.S. container ports handled an average of 50,000 TEUs. This large number of containers moving through the nation's seaports highlights the challenges in maintaining efficient flow of cargo while preventing the use of containers for terrorist attacks or smuggling of contraband goods.

Container traffic tends to be highly concentrated. The top 10 U.S. container ports accounted for 83 percent of containerized imports and exports in 2001 (measured in TEUs), up from 77 percent in 1995 (table 1). Three of the top five container ports in the United States are on the West Coast. Between 1995 and 2001, Los Angeles and Long Beach grew the most in terms of absolute amount of container traffic, reflecting increased U.S. trade with Pacific Rim countries. Los Angeles, California, and Savannah, Georgia, grew the most by the annual average growth rate. The growth rates for Savannah, Miami, and Houston reflect the expansion in U.S. container trade with Latin American countries.

In 2001, oceanborne containerized cargo handled at the Port of Savannah increased by 13 percent, making it the fastest growing port in the nation. This growth in the Port of Savannah's containerized traffic also shows increases in retail import distribution centers in the Savannah area. Several national retailers have large distribution centers for handling the thousands of TEUs transiting the port (Traffic World 2002).

Table 1 - Top 10 U.S. Maritime Container Ports: 1995, 2000, and 2001 (thousands of TEUs)

Ports	1995	2000	2001	Average number of TEUs per day (2001)	Percent change (1995-2000)	Average annual growth rate (percent)
Los Angeles, CA	1,849	3,228	3,425	9,384	85.2	10.8
Long Beach, CA	2,137	3,204	3,199	8,765	49.7	7.0
New York and New Jersey	1,537	2,200	2,332	6,388	51.7	7.2
Charleston, SC	758	1,246	1,156	3,166	52.5	7.3
Oakland, CA	919	989	960	2,630	4.5	0.7
Norfolk, VA	647	850	885	2,424	36.7	5.4
Seattle, WA	993	960	824	2,257	-17.0	-3.1
Savannah, GA	445	720	813	2,226	82.6	10.6
Houston, TX	489	733	778	2,132	59.1	8.0
Miami, FL	497	684	717	1,964	44.2	6.3
Total top 10 ports	10,271	14,814	15,088	41,337	46.9	6.6
Top 10, percent of total	77.1	82.6	83.4
Total all ports	13,328	17,938	18,081	49,537	35.7	5.2

NOTE: TEUs = twenty-foot equivalent units.

SOURCE: Journal of Commerce, Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), various container data files.

Figure 2 - U.S. Waterborne Containerized Exports and Imports by Coastal Port Region: 2001

NOTE: TEUs = twenty-foot equivalent units. Pacific includes Alaska and Hawaii.

SOURCE: Journal of Commerce, Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), various container data files.

Over time, the use of oceanborne containers in trade has affected the distribution of total maritime trade among U.S. ports. In the 1970s, when U.S.-Asia-Pacific Rim trade was modest, East Coast ports handled the majority of maritime international trade. As trade with Asia grew, the East Coast ports' share of the value of trade declined while West Coast ports' share increased. Also during this period, changes in industrial activity in the Midwest affected the volume and type of cargo moving through Great Lakes ports. Gulf of Mexico ports experienced a modest increase in their relative share as trade with Latin America grew.

Over half of U.S. containerized merchandise trade in terms of TEUs passes through West Coast ports. Nearly 56 percent of the containerized imports and 43 percent of the exports passed through these ports in 2001 (figure 2). California ports alone handled 48 percent of the container imports and 32 percent of the container exports. Although West Coast ports handled the most container trade, they also had a larger share of the oceanborne containerized trade deficit, in terms of export-import balance, than other regional ports. Today, West Coast ports serve more as import gateways into the United States than export gateways to the rest of the world. In contrast, East Coast ports handled more exports than imports (figure 2).

Container trade also affects the pattern of freight movement in the United States. Nearly all U.S. oceanborne container trade is transported by rail carriers, long-haul truck carriers, and local truck carriers to and from origins and destinations throughout the country. The availability and efficiency of intermodal transportation in moving these goods to and from any U.S. port improves shippers' choices of transportation modes and port facilities, allowing ports to effectively use their economies of scale to attract cargo from beyond their immediate region.

Table 2 - Top 10 U.S. Port of Calls by Vessel Type: 2000 (Capacity in thousands of deadweight tons)

Ranked by container capacity	Port	Container ship		Container ships as percent of total vessels		Average vessel size per call (DWT)
		Calls	Capacity	Calls	Capacity	Total - all vessel types	Container ships
1	Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA	2,955	124,281	55.5	51.2	45,616	42,058
2	New York and New Jersey	2,172	87,463	47.2	46.9	40,528	40,268
3	San Francisco, CA	1,936	82,958	54.2	50.9	45,614	42,850
4	Charleston, SC	1,547	62,463	71.4	76.5	37,701	40,377
5	Hampton Roads Area, VA	1,557	61,943	62.4	56.1	44,238	39,784
6	Savannah, GA	739	31,506	41.8	50.3	35,404	42,633
7	Seattle, WA	794	31,182	69.0	68.4	39,625	39,272
8	Tacoma, WA	568	27,950	47.5	59.3	39,439	49,208
9	Miami, FL	766	25,522	63.2	73.9	28,509	33,319
10	Houston, TX	614	19,799	12.0	9.5	40,521	32,246
	Top 10 U.S. ports	13,648	555,067	47.7	46.9	41,311	40,670
	Total U.S. ports	17,401	657,619	29.0	24.1	45,531	37,792
	Top 10 percent of U.S. total	78.4	84.4

NOTE: Data include oceangoing vessels 1,000 gross tons and above. Capacity = DWT multiplied by calls.
San Francisco Bay Area includes Oakland, San Francisco, and other ports. Hampton Roads Area includes all Hampton Roads area ports (Norfolk, Newport News, etc.) Los Angeles and Long Beach are counted as one.

SOURCE: Lloyd's Maritime Information Services, Vessel Movements.

Similar to the containerized traffic trend, vessel calls at U.S. ports have also become concentrated during the past two decades. In 2000, the top five container ports handled over half of the containership calls and 64 percent of the container cargo capacity (table 2).

The top U.S. maritime ports also handled larger container vessels, measured by the average vessel size per call. The average size (per call) of container vessels calling at U.S. ports was nearly 38,000 deadweight tons (DWT) in 2000, up about 6 percent since 1998 (MARAD 2002). By contrast, the average size of container vessels calling at ports worldwide was 30,000 DWT.

In 2000, three U.S. ports, San Francisco Bay Area ports, Los Angeles-Long Beach, and New York-New Jersey ranked among the world's top 10 container ports when measured by the average vessel size per call, placing second, fourth, and sixth, respectively.

Figure 3a - Top 10 Trading Partners for U.S. Waterborne Containerized Imports: 2001

SOURCE: Journal of Commerce, Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), special tabulations, August 5, 2002.

Figure 3b - Top 10 Trading Partners for U.S. Waterborne Containerized Exports: 2001

SOURCE: Journal of Commerce, Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), special tabulations, August 5, 2002.

The top five overall U.S. containerized cargo trading partners in 2001 were all Asian countries: China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea. China was the leading containerized merchandise trade partner, accounting for 27 percent of U.S. imports and 11 percent of U.S. exports in terms of TEUs. Japan was the leading trading partner for U.S. oceanborne containerized exports (figure 3a and figure 3b). Japan was also the leading U.S. trade partner for overall maritime trade by value in 2001, followed by China, and Germany.

U.S. imports and exports with its major trading partners vary by types of goods, and this affects the types of vessels, number of port calls, and the seaports used. For example, while most U.S.-Canada maritime trade involves agricultural products, lumber, and petroleum products, most U.S.-Germany maritime trade involves manufactured products such as automobiles and machinery. Also, while U.S. maritime imports from Japan were valued at about $7,000 per ton, U.S. exports to Japan were valued at $500 per ton, reflecting differences in the types of goods and the growth in high- value containerized imports to U.S. ports.

Table 3 - U.S. Waterborne Containerized Trade by Major Commodities: 2001 (in thousands)

Ranked by TEUs	Exports		Imports
	Commodity	Percent share	Commodity	Percent share
1	Paper and paperboard	12.4	Furniture	8.3
2	General cargo	7.3	General cargo	4.9
3	Fabrics, incl. raw cotton	4.2	Toys	3.9
4	Pet and animal feeds	3.6	Footware	3.3
5	Grocery products	3.0	Apparel and misc.	3.2
6	Synthetic resins	2.8	Auto parts	3.2
7	Logs and lumber	2.6	EDP machinery	2.5
8	Wood pulp	2.0	Plastic products	2.3
9	Auto parts	2.0	Bananas	2.2
10	Vegetables	1.9	Electrical and electronics	1.9
	Others	58.4	Others	64.2
	Total, all	100.0	Total, all	100.0

NOTE: TEUs = twenty-foot equivalent units. EDP machinery = electronic data processing equipment.

SOURCE: Journal of Commerce, Port Import/Export Reporting Service (PIERS), special tabulations, August 2002.

Contents of Oceanborne Containers

Given the large volume of containerized imports entering the United States daily from all over the world, a primary security challenge is determining the actual contents of the highest risk cargoes while ensuring efficient flow of the remaining cargoes. As the United States implements security measures to protect the nation's ports from terrorist attack, contents of imported containers is a major concern. Table 3 shows the leading commodity imports transported by oceanborne containers in 2001, based on shipper and carrier declarations.

In 2000, nearly half a million individuals and companies imported products into the United States. Of this, the top 1,000 companies account for over 60 percent of the value of all imports.

Oceanborne Container Entries

The challenge of handling large volumes of containerized imports from our trading partners can also be seen in the number of individual container entries processed by the U.S. Customs Service. In 2001, there were over 5.6 million oceanborne container entries into the United States, down 6 percent from nearly 6 million in 2000 (figure 4).

The number of oceanborne containers entering the United States was declining in the months prior to September 11 compared to the same months in 2000. The number of container entries into the United States in September 2001 was 19 percent less than in September 2000.

Figure 4 - Maritime Container Entries into the United States

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, special tabulation, April 2002; based on U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Mission Support Services, Office of Field Operations, Operations Management Database CD.

Figure 5 - Container Entries into the United States: 2000 and 2001

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, special tabulation, July 2002; based on U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Mission Support Services, Office of Field Operations, Operations Management Database CD.

Container Entries By All Modes

In addition to the nearly 6 million oceanborne containers used to bring imports into the United States, over 13 million containers entered the nation by truck and rail from Canada and Mexico in 2001 (figure 5). The large number of containers crossing by land border into the United States by surface modes reflects the importance of U.S. trade with its top two trading partners.

While oceanborne container entries declined in 2001 compared to 2000, container entries by truck and rail increased slightly, reflecting the higher growth rate of United States-NAFTA trade compared to U.S. containerized trade with overseas countries.

References

U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Vessel Calls at U.S. Ports 2000, January 2002, Washington, DC.
U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, Mission Support Services, Office of Field Operations, Operations Management Database CD, 2002.
Traffic World, Maritime Update: Sweet Savannah, July 15, 2002, Page 25, East Windsor, New Jersey.