News
Import volume at major U.S. container ports is expected to hit an all-time record in August as retailers concerned about the lack of a West Coast longshoremen's contract rush to bring holiday season merchandise into the country, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released recently 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 1.54 million TEUs this month. That is the highest monthly volume since NRF began tracking import volume in 2000, topping a previous record of 1.53 million TEUs in July and unusually high numbers seen this spring as retailers began importing merchandise early in anticipation of this summer's contract talks.
U.S. ports followed by the report handled 1.48 million TEUs in June, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was down 0.38 percent from May but up 9.1 percent from June 2013.
July was estimated at 1.53 million TEUs, up 5.8 percent from the same month last year, and August is forecast at 1.54 million TEUs, up 3.6 percent from last year. September is forecast at 1.48 million TEUs, up 2.8 percent from last year; October also at 1.48 million TEUs, up 3.3 percent; November at 1.37 million TEUs, up 2 percent; and December at 1.34 million TEUs, up 2.1 percent.
Those numbers would bring 2014 to a total of 17.1 million TEUs, an increase of 5.2 percent over 2013's 16.2 million. Imports in 2012 totaled 15.8 million. The first half of the 2014 totaled 8.3 million TEUs, up 6.9 percent over last year.
