October 15, 2015
One of the fastest-growing U. S. exports right now is air.
Shipments of empty containers out of the U. S. are surging this year, highlighting the impact the economic slowdown in China is having on U. S. exporters. The U. S. imports more from China than it sends back, but certain American industries – including those that supply scrap metal and wastepaper – feed China’s industrial production.
Those exporters have suffered this year as has cooled. In September, the Port of Long Beach, Calif., part of the country’s busiest ocean-shipping gateway, handled 197,076 outbound empty boxes. They accounted for nearly a third of all containers that moved through the port last month. September was the eighth straight month in which empty containers leaving Long Beach outnumbered those loaded with exports.
The empties are shipping out at a faster rate at many U. S. ports, particularly those closely tied to trade with China, while shipments of containers loaded with goods are declining as exporters find it tougher to make foreign sales. That’s at least partly because the strong dollar makes American goods more expensive.
Normally, after containers filled with consumer goods are delivered to the U. S. and unloaded, they return to export hubs. There, they typically are stuffed with American agricultural products, certain high-end consumer goods and large volumes of the heavy, bulk refuse that is recycled through China’s factories into products or packaging.
This post was published at David Stockmans Contra Corner By ERICA E. PHILLIPS The Wall Street Journal /.
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