U.S. manufacturing sentiment improved in December, according to the latest ISM survey, dragging up import order expectations to 57.5% (where over 50% indicates expansion) from 55.1% a month earlier. Panjiva’s U.S. seaborne data shows shipments likely rose by 22.1% year over year in December, supporting the ISM evidence of continued U.S. import growth. Yet, the export side of the economy may be cooling with export order expectations dipping to 57.5% from 57.8%, the first downshift since April. A similar trend has been seen in China’s recent CFLP survey with a decline to 51.3% from 51.5%, ...