Report: Chinese ships carry more empty containers than full ones out of American West Coast ports

According to CNBC analysis of trade data, two Chinese carriers are sending more empty export containers than loaded exports from the two biggest ports in the United States.

CNBC was able to obtain and analyze the container data for 2020 and 2021 from the Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach, U.S. customs, and HIS Markit PIERS import export data. 

The two carriers found at the top of the list both transported a larger number of empty containers than loaded U.S. exports from the Port of Los Angeles, and those two were OOCL, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, as well as its parent company, COSCO, which is based in Shanghai.

OOCL noted a 35.1 percent decrease in their loaded exports as well as a 104.1 percent increase in empty containers. COSCO transported a hiked amount of 4 percent in loaded containers compared to a 104.6 percent increase in empty ones.

“According to industry-wide data, exports form the U.S. West Coast have been on a declining trend since 2019, due to a range of factors including changes in market demand,” OOCL said.

“OOCL’s key hub on the West Coast is the Long Beach Container Terminal. For reasons of efficiency and cost, where possible we have been switching cargo from a range of ports to ship through Long Beach, inevitably leading to a decrease of our throughput at those other ports.” 

An analysis of the Port of Long Beach information showed that OOCL was at the top of the list with a 3.2 percent decrease in their loaded exports compared to a 31.61 percent increase in empty exports. The revelations come as the Port of Los Angeles reported another decline in exports for the month of March.