The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, a discussion agreement of 15 container carriers serving the Asia-to-U.S. trade, said internal reporting by its members "shows a 24.1 percent year-on-year increase in traffic during the month of May alone to the U.S. West Coast, and a 30.8 percent increase in all-water shipments to the East and Gulf coasts via the Panama Canal.

"Although the long-term economic outlook still remains unclear, carriers are now seeing a strong peak season surge that could last for some months" said Y.M. Kim, president and chief executive officer of Hanjin Shipping Co.

TSA said first-quarter cargo demand from Asia to the United States was equivalent to 2.54 million TEUs, 13 percent more than in the first quarter of 2009 according to figures from PIERS.

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