Blame Europe and cars, not China and tariffs, news by Hebei Longsheng
| Blame Europe and cars, not China and tariffs for November slowdown The 21-month run of growth in U.S. seaborne imports may be near and end. Growth in November was just 1.8% on a year earlier, including 3.7% for containerized freight, compared to a 7.2% surge seen in the prior three months. The main culprit was a reversal in imports from Europe which fell 6.8% after a 3.0% improvement previously. By contrast Chinese imports continued to expand despite the second full month of duties on $250 billion of imports, though the 4.2% growth was slower than seen previously. The slowdown in total imports was most marked in industrial supply chains. Imports by the automotive industry fell 4.7% including a 10.4% slide in imports of auto parts from Europe. That would suggest reduced concerns about the ongoing national security trade review of the sector as well as falling U.S. automotive sales. There was also 0.5% decline in imports of machinery and equipment alongside import growth of just 1.7% for iron and steel - both bode ill for the state of the economy more broadly |
