CHINA's containerised exports to the US have slipped 6.5 per cent in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year because of the current trade war between the two.

According to statistics from Alphaliner Chinese exports to the US decreased to 3.87 million TEU in the first five months compared to 4.14 million TEU in the year-ago period.

However, despite the trade war tensions China remains by far the largest origin of US containerised imports even though its share has reduced from 46 per cent in 2018 to 42 per cent this year.

Overall, US container imports during the January-May 2019 period still grew by 2.8 per cent year on year to 9.31 million TEU from 9.06 million TEU as most other cargo origin countries recorded volumes increases.

The next 15 largest exporters to the US after China recorded a gain of 12.1 per cent in container volumes during the January-May period, as their combined share of US container imports grew from 35 per cent to 39 per cent. However, at 3.6 million TEU, the 15 countries combined volume was still smaller than China's at 3.87 million TEU, reports Colchester's Seatrade Maritime News.

Vietnam registered the largest increase at 30.7 per cent as its total exports to the US reached 564,420 TEU. "Transpacific carriers have been cashing in on the increased volumes from Vietnam, adding two new direct calls at Northern Vietnam's Haiphong port (HICT) this year to complement 12 existing calls at Southern Vietnam's port of Cai Mep," Alphaliner stated.