The import volume of the United States from Asia in July increased compared with that in June and the same period last year, which is the most clear sign so far, indicating that the import slump predicted by some markets earlier has not occurred.

On the east coast of the United States, the cargo volume of ports along the Gulf of Mexico continues to increase.

Houston port steel imports record

The volume of imported steel handled by the port of Houston hit a record high. Compared with the same period last year, the import volume in the first half of the year increased by 92%.

Roger Guenther, executive director of Houston port, said at the meeting on August 2: "imported steel is at the highest level in the past decade. The total tonnage of all public facilities increased by 24% year on year."

The steel import volume in the first seven months of this year was 3.2 million tons, compared with 1.7 million tons in the same period of 2021. The general import volume increased by 54%, reaching 5.2 million tons. From January to June, the container import volume was 10.1 million tons, an increase of 17%.

In the first six months, steel exports increased by 4% to 29322 tons, while general exports increased by 5% to 7.3 million tons. Container exports increased by 12% year-on-year to 9.3 million tons.

In July, the steel import volume of Houston port increased by 48% year-on-year to 470849 tons. Steel exports decreased by 81% to 2170 tons.

The port of Houston handled 328498 20 foot containers in July, a year-on-year increase of 10%. So far this year, the port has handled 2.2 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 17% compared with 2021.

Mobile port set a monthly TEU record in July

July was the busiest month since the container cargo of mobile port was recorded. The Alabama Port Authority reported more than 50000 TEUs for the first time since it began operation in 2008.

According to the port authority, July is the seventh consecutive month for mobile port to achieve double-digit and three digit growth in total throughput and multimodal railway volume respectively.

From January to July, the total number of containers handled at the port was 316473 TEUs, an increase of 12.4% over the same period of 2021.

In the first six months of this year, the freight volume of dry goods and refrigerated containers increased by 35.8% year-on-year, while that of multimodal transport increased by 185% in the same period.

John C. Driscoll, director and chief executive officer of the port authority, said in a statement: "this growth shows that mobile is the first choice for shippers who want to avoid congestion and delay because they can transport goods quickly and efficiently."

According to the port authority, mobile is expected to exceed 500000 TEUs in 2022.

Oil exports from Corpus Christi port increased

In July, the port of Corpus Christi in southern Texas transported more than 16.5 million tons of cargo, an increase of 22% over the same month of 2021.

The port handled 9.9 million tons of crude oil, an increase of 25% year on year. The crude oil export volume was 8.9 million tons, an increase of 20% over last year.