US imports dragged down by seasonality, Panama Canal crisis

The good news for container lines: U.S. imports are still higher than they were before the pandemic. The bad news: This year’s string of month-on-month gains is over. Seasonality, combined with worsening conditions at the Panama Canal, pulled down imports in November — a negative for freight rates.

According to data from Descartes (NASDAQ: DSGX) released Thursday, U.S. ports handled 2,099,408 twenty-foot equivalent units of imports last month, 9% less than in October.