News
Imports at major U.S. retail container ports are expected to remain significantly below last year's levels into this fall as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
June was estimated at 1.69 million TEUs, down 5.8 percent year-over-year. July is forecast at the same 1.69 million TEUs, down 14.1 percent from last year; August at 1.69 million TEUs again, down 13.3 percent; September at 1.64 million TEUs, down 12.3 percent; October at 1.7 million TEUs, down 9.9 percent, and November at 1.68 million TEUs, down 0.6 percent.
With imports usually trailing off in November and December after the bulk of holiday merchandise has arrived, the 1.7 million TEU figure for October is likely to be the busiest month of the traditional July-to-October peak season for shipping. If so, it would be the lowest peak since 1.61 million TEUs in September 2014.
The outlook is about the same as a month ago, with some months higher and some lower. Imports for the six-month period from May through October are expected to total 9.94 million TEUs, a 0.7 percent improvement from the amount forecast a month ago.
The first half of 2020 is forecast to total 9.5 million TEUs, down 9.3 percent from the same period last year but better than the 10 percent decline expected last month. Before the extent of the pandemic was known, the first half of the year was forecast at 10.47 million TEUs.
