US industry revival aids shippers as fewer empty containers cross Pacific

Shipping lines hope the return of manufacturing to the United States will correct the imbalance of cargo on vessels plying transpacific trade lanes, but the prospect remains distant with the US trade deficit remaining wide.

Bronson Hsieh Chih-chien, senior vice-chairman of Taiwan-based Evergreen Group, which operates airline and shipping businesses, told a maritime conference in Shenzhen last week that increased production of shale oil and shale gas in the US had pushed down manufacturing production costs. That was expected to boost exports from the world's biggest economy in the long run.

Hsieh said industries returning to the US would increase supply for domestic consumption and slow the growth of US imports in the short term. That would boost imports in the long run in tandem with a rise in exports.

Moreover, declining oil imports would reduce the US trade deficit, increasing the value of the US dollar and stimulating domestic consumption.

US exports rose 6.2 per cent last year, hitting a record US$110 billion following President Barack Obama's call for American companies to double their overseas sales in the five years to 2014. However, shipping lines continued to find themselves moving large amounts of empty containers back to Asia after goods were unloaded in the US.

"Many shipping lines hate delivering goods to inland ports such as Kansas or Detroit because you don't get much cargo back to Asia," said Issac Fung of freight forwarder Topocean Consolidation Service, which focuses on transpacific trade. "That means the US importer always has to shoulder the cost of the return leg and that increases the burden."