How Many Shipping Containers Enter the U.S. Daily?
Every day, an estimated 73,067 shipping containers enter the United States, according to the latest data for July and August 2023. However, in last year’s data for July and August, an average estimated 84,332 shipping containers entered the country per day. We calculate the data that we gather from Descartes Datamyne.
The provided figures suggest a notable reduction in shipping container traffic, a trend supported by other data from the year 2023. For instance, a report by Descartes reveals that in August 2023, the U.S. container import volume increased slightly compared to July 2023, aligning with typical peak season upticks observed in non-pandemic years. However, despite the volume increase, port transit times remained near their lowest levels since Descartes began monitoring them, indicating efficient port operations during this period.
The trend can be better understood with the help of additional reports. The number of TEUs imported into the United States rose to 2,196,268 in August 2023, up 0.4% from July 2023. Import volume growth in the first eight months of 2023 was within 2.1% of the same period in 2019, indicating that shipping activities have been relatively stable compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In addition, July 2023 marked yet another monthly record for container imports into the United States, with the TEU volume increasing by 3% from July 2021 to 2,530,906. This represents an increase of 15% from July 2019 (before the pandemic). This upward trend in July was a reversal from a decline observed in June, indicating the volatile nature of shipping container traffic into the country.