Sharp Drop in US Imports Blamed on Coronavirus
February 18, 20
(IDEX Online) - Coronavirus is being blamed for a sharp decline in imports to the U.S.
Overall volumes of shipping containers entering the country will be down 3.8 percent in January and 12.9 percent in February (year-on-year), according to estimates by Global Port Tracker, which forecasts container trends.
March is set to be down 9.5 percent, it says, in a report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
Traffic through US container ports is suffering, as many Chinese factories remain closed indefinitely almost a month after the New Year shutdown.
"US retailers were already beginning to shift some sourcing to other countries because of the trade war, but if shutdowns continue, we could see an impact on supply chains," said Jonathan Gold, an NRF vice president.