LOS ANGELES—U.S. imports of goods in ocean shipping containers in December fell to levels approaching those last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report said on Tuesday.
Demand for kitchen appliances, furniture, big-screen TVs, apparel, and other retail goods softened late last year as record inflation bit into disposable income and consumers shifted spending back to travel and other previously restricted activities.
December 2022 U.S. container import volume topped 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to Descartes Systems Group. That was down 19 percent from the year earlier, but 1 percent above December 2019, the logistics software provider said. Then, the pandemic spawned an unexpected container cargo surge that overwhelmed seaports and upended global supply chains….