US-Japan Freight Shipping

Since Japan is consistently one of the top 10 trading nations, it is no wonder why so many businesses want to ship ocean freight to and from there. In 2013, it has been reported that container trade at the port of Osaka increased. And the big surprise is that the port of Osaka is not even one of the top four shipping ports in Japan. The top 4 shipping ports in Japan are the port of Tokyo, the port of Yokohama, the port of Nagoya and the port of Kobe.

The United States maintains a special trade relationship with Japan. The United States trades more cargo than the European Union with Japan every year. However, China is still the number one trade partner with Japan. After looking at the recent numbers, China’s trade with Japan is more than 50% larger than our trade with Japan. The trade between the United States and Japan can be best described as import heavy. The reason is because the United States imports more than we export with Japan, by about a 2-1 deficit. The most popular exports from the United States to Japan have been raw materials and agricultural products. The most popular imports from Japan to the US include manufactured cargo like cars. The US-Japan Economic Harmonization Initiative, which started in November 2010, improved trade between the two nations. And trade has been steady every month since. Your freight forwarder can help guide you through the best shipping strategies with Japan for import shipping and export shipping.