21.05.12US Retail Cargo Imports Set New Record as Economy Recovers

US imports at retail container ports hit a new record this spring and volume during the first half of 2021 is expected to be a third higher than last year as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, according to Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.27 million TEUs in March, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was up 21.2 percent from February and set a new record for the number of containers seen during a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002. The previous record was 2.21 million TEU set last October.

March volume was up a record 64.9 percent year-over-year but the growth rate was artificially high because many Asian factories had shut down because of the pandemic at that point last year and most U.S. stores were being ordered to close.

The first half of 2021 is forecast to be up 33.9 percent from the same period in 2020. As with March, the growth is skewed because of the sharp decline in imports during the first half of last year. But the six-month total of 12.7 million TEUs would put 2021 on track to beat 2020’s full-year total of 22 million TEUs, which was up 1.9 percent over 2019 despite the pandemic.

April numbers are not yet available, but the month was projected at 2.17 million TEUs, up 34.5 percent year-over-year. May is forecast at 2.22 million TEUs, up 44.9 percent; June at 2.08 million TEUs, up 29.7 percent; July at 2.15 million TEUs, up 12.2 percent; August at 2.23 million TEUs, up 6 percent, and September at 2.13 million TEUs, up 1.3 percent.

Congestion at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has begun to ease as carriers have shifted vessels to the Pacific Northwest or to the East Coast via the Panama Canal, Hackett said. But some ships are still facing delays to unload as ports work at capacity and COVID-19 infections impact workers. Shortages of containers and other equipment and operational issues also continue to slow down the supply chain.