Zepol Corporation, a trade intelligence company, reports that import shipment volume for November, measured in TEUs, decreased 0.92 from October and increased 14.23 percent over November 2009. The total number of shipments rose slightly at 0.20 percent from October and 14.03 percent over last November.

Key Statistics from this Month's Update:

1. Year to date, total import shipments are up 14.17 percent over 2009 and down 1.22 percent from 2008. Year-to-date TEUs show similar numbers, up 15.95 percent over 2009 and down 0.98 percent from 2008.

2. Total shipments from Asia are down 2.11 percent from October, but European origin shipments rose 12.15 percent for the same time period. TEU volumes show the same picture: Asia down 3.48 percent and Europe up 10.18 percent.

3. The common perception that October is the most active month for trade was proved wrong in 2010 as August clocked the most import TEUs at 2.06 million. In the last 3 months, September, October, and November have shown month-over-month decreases of 4.66 percent, 2.87 percent, and 0.95 percent, respectively.

Zepol's data is derived from bills of lading entered into the Automated Manifest System.

Source: Zepol