U.S. Containerized Exports Slowed in Second Quarter; China’s Drop in Demand for Animal Feeds a Key Factor

NEWARK, N.J., Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Growth in U.S. containerized exports slowed to 6 percent in the second quarter compared to 12 percent growth in the previous quarter, according to The Journal of Commerce/PIERS research.

The slower growth, including a 2.1 percent year-over-year decline in June, left U.S. export volume up 9 percent in the first half of the year.

Weakening demand for pet and animal feeds, down 25 percent in the second quarter after a 6 percent decline a quarter earlier, was a substantial factor in the overall year-over-year export drop to 2,970,227 20-foot equivalent container units, or TEUs. Declining feed-shipment volume, a majority of which include distillers dried grains, can be attributed to the quarter’s 59 percent drop in shipments to China, where antidumping investigations against U.S. DDGs continue, said Mario O. Moreno, economist for The Journal of Commerce and PIERS.

U.S. meat exports to China, however, jumped 535 percent as rising incomes spur changing dietary practices and surging demand. Favorable exchange rates and rising salaries boosted demand for U.S. motor vehicles, sparking a 40 percent jump in second quarter volume.

Increases in manufacturing commodities such as scrap paper, up 9 percent to 432,475 TEUs, and metal scrap, ferrous and pig iron, up 56 percent to 69,466 TEUs, are encouraging for the overall global manufacturing picture, Moreno noted.

Geographically, the largest rise in exports was to Northeast Asia, up 5 percent to 1,282,130 TEUs, followed by Northern Europe at 12 percent to 372,606 TEUs. Exports to the Caribbean dropped 5 percent to 126,898 TEUs.

Overall U.S. exports fell 2.1 percent in June year over year, and by 1 percent from the first quarter to the second.

A full analysis of the JOC/PIERS findings is available at www.joc.com.

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