News
This year’s extended peak season is continuing, with a final bump expected this month that could push September just over the line to be the busiest month of the year for import volume at the nation’s major container ports, according to a Global Port Tracker (GPT) report released on Wednesday by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates (HA).
The U.S. ports covered by GPT handled 2.3 million TEUs of containers in July, down 3.9% from a year earlier but up 3.2% from a month earlier.
Ports have not yet reported August numbers, but GPT estimates the month at 2.29 million TEUs, down 1.3% year over year. September is forecast at 2.31 million TEUs, up 9.6% and slightly ahead of July as the busiest month of the year.
As recently as last month, it appeared that May’s 2.24 million TEU would be the busiest month of 2026 as retailers brought in merchandise early ahead of potential increases in tariffs. But high import levels continued, stretching out the peak season to its traditional timing of late summer and early fall. Cargo volume is expected to drop to 2.11 million TEUs in October but will still be up 1.7%. November is forecast at two million TEUs, down 0.9% and December at 2.03 million TEUs, up 1.1%. Those numbers would bring 2026 to a total of 25.7 million TEUs, up 1% from last year’s 25.4 million TEUs. The first half of 2026 totaled 12.7 million TEUs, up 1.1% from the same period in 2025. January 2027 is forecast at 2.09 million TEUs, down 1%.
