February 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq: DSGX) (TSX:DSG), the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, released its February report on the ongoing global shipping crisis and analysis for logistics and supply chain professionals. The report shows stronger U.S. ocean container import volumes in January and a slight softening of economic indicators, but not enough to suggest a change in the levels of disruption for global supply chains in 2022.

January 2022 rebounded from a two month decline to post record U.S. import container volume of 2.47M TEUs (see Figure 1). Compared to January 2021 and pre-pandemic January 2020, January 2022 was another record month with volumes up 3% and 14%, respectively. From an economic indicator perspective, the ratio of consumer expenditures of goods to services dropped 1.8% to 51.6% in January. This could signal softer import volumes as goods purchases are the most significant driver of heightened global shipping volumes; however, January container import volume remains in the 2.4M to 2.6M TEU range that persisted throughout 2021, contributing to the chronic supply chain disruptions (e.g., delays, variability, etc.) that ensued.

“The slight reduction in the personal consumption of goods of might be a positive sign, but other indicators like the retailer inventory to sales ratio need to measurably improve (see Figure 2) to take the pressure of the U.S. logistics infrastructure in 2022,” said Chris Jones, EVP Industry & Services at Descartes. “January’s container import volume doesn’t show a break in the action. We believe importers and logistics services providers will face a congested and frustrating 2022 and must plan for more lasting impact.”

The February report is Descartes’ seventh installment since beginning its analysis in August 2021. To read past reports, learn more about the key economic and logistics factors driving the global shipping crisis, and review strategies to help address it in the near-, short- and long-term, visit Descartes’ Global Shipping Crisis Resource Center.

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