News
Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is continuing to wind down as the year comes to an end but is nonetheless expected to be up 9 percent in November over the same month last year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
U.S. ports handled 1.34 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units in September, the latest month for which actual numbers are available. That was down 6 percent from August but up 17 percent from September 2009. It was the 10th month in a row to show a year-over-year improvement after December 2009 broke a 28-month streak of year-over-year declines.
October was estimated at 1.29 million TEU, a 9 percent increase over last year. October is historically the busiest month of the year as retailers stock up for the holiday season, but the peak shifted to August this year as retailers brought merchandise into the country early to avoid a repeat of delays on the part of ocean carriers seen earlier this year.
November is forecast at 1.19 million TEU, up 9 percent from last year, and December at 1.1 million TEU, up 1 percent. January 2011 is forecast at 1.08 million TEU, up 7 percent from 2010. But February, traditionally the slowest month of the year, is forecast at 1.06 million TEU, down 5 percent from last year, and March is forecast at 1.04 million TEU, down 10 percent. Numbers beyond March have not yet been calculated, but a solid recovery is expected in the second and third quarters of 2011 after the usual winter slowdown.
