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State of U.S. Imports: Q2 2020

U.S. ocean import activity from April 2020 through June 2020, from U.S. Customs bill of lading records.

Sourced from U.S. Customs bill of lading data · Updated monthly · Data through May 2026

Key findings

  • U.S. ocean imports totaled 2,426,824 shipments in Q2 2020, up 25.5% versus Q1 2020.
  • The highest-volume import category was Toilet or facial tissue stock, towel or napkin stock and similar paper of a kind used for… (HS 480300), with 36,282 shipments (+2088.3% quarter-over-quarter).
  • The fastest-growing high-volume category was Toilet or facial tissue stock, towel or napkin stock and similar paper of a kind used for… (HS 480300), up 2088.3% from the prior quarter to 36,282 shipments.
  • The steepest decline among high-volume categories was Wooden furniture of a kind used in the bedroom (HS 940350), down 46.6% quarter-over-quarter.
  • CHINA was the largest origin country with 1,192,856 shipments — 49.2% of all U.S. ocean imports.
  • The busiest U.S. port of entry was OAKLAND, CA, receiving 560,584 shipments.
  • The largest importer by shipment count was DOLE FRESH FRUIT COMPANY, with 13,494 shipments.
Shipments
2,426,824
Containers
3,157,382
Quarter over quarter
+25.5%
vs Q1 2020
Year over year
N/A
not available — dataset begins Jan 2020

Monthly shipment volume

962,713
April 2020
769,011
May 2020
695,100
June 2020

Top import categories

Fastest growing

Steepest declines

Among categories with at least 1,000 shipments this quarter and 500 the prior quarter, across the 100 highest-volume HS codes.

Top origin countries

CountryShipmentsQoQ
CHINA1,192,856+120.6%
GERMANY111,901-3.4%
REPUBLIC OF KOREA76,332-7.6%
TAIWAN73,603-1.0%
ITALY71,370-7.2%
VIET NAM65,832-14.8%
JAPAN63,230-8.8%
INDIA51,898-41.7%
BELGIUM50,395-4.8%
HONG KONG44,268+18.7%

Busiest U.S. ports

Port of entryShipmentsQoQ
OAKLAND, CA560,584+836.6%
LOS ANGELES, CA348,773+15.7%
NEW YORK/NEWARK AREA, NEWARK, NJ346,156-5.9%
LONG BEACH, CA336,888+22.8%
HOUSTON, TX107,319-9.7%
SAVANNAH, GA106,429-10.2%
TACOMA, WA91,473-3.5%
CHARLESTON, SC90,764-8.4%
NORFOLK, VA73,616-4.8%
SEATTLE, WA65,273+27.2%

Largest importers

Largest suppliers

Methodology & citation

Figures are counts of U.S. Customs bill of lading records for ocean freight arriving at U.S. ports between April 2020 and June 2020. Product categories are 6-digit Harmonized System subheadings. Quarter-over-quarter compares Q1 2020, year-over-year compares Q2 2019. Shipment counts are records, not TEU or customs value.

This report is free to cite with attribution: “ImportDoor, State of U.S. Imports: Q2 2020 — U.S. Customs bill of lading data”, linked to this page.