News
Import cargo volume at the U.S.'s major retail container ports is expected to see a final surge and set a new monthly record in October as the holiday season approaches, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Import volume at U.S. ports covered by the Global Port Tracker report is expected to total 1.53 million containers this month, topping the 1.52 million monthly record set in August. Cargo volume has been well above average each month since spring as retailers have imported merchandise early in case of any disruption on the docks.
The 1.52 million TEUs handled in August, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available, was up 1.5 percent from July and 2.1 percent from August 2013. September was estimated at 1.48 million TEUs, up 2.8 percent from the same month last year, and October’s forecast of 1.53 million TEUs would be up 6.4 percent from last year. November is forecast at 1.39 million TEUs, up 3.7 percent, and December at 1.37 million TEUs, up 3.9 percent.
Those numbers would bring 2014 to a total of 17.1 million TEUs, an increase of 5.3 percent over 2013's 16.2 million TEUs. Imports in 2012 totaled 15.8 million TEUs. The first half of 2014 totaled 8.3 million TEUs, up 7 percent over last year.
January 2015 is forecast at 1.42 million TEUs, up 3.5 percent from January 2014, while February is forecast at 1.35 million TEUs, up 8.5 percent from last year.
