Steep declines in imports of furniture, toys and footwear in February helped pushed U.S. containerized imports down 5.8 percent year-over-year, the first decline in four months.
An early Lunar New Year shutdown of factories in China exacerbated the year-over-year import loss, but the 18.6 percent month-to-month decrease still suggests weakening volume. Overall U.S. containerized imports in February reached 1,193,157 20-foot equivalent units, following a rise of 4.1 percent in January.