News
Imports at the U.S.'s largest retail container ports are continuing to show double-digit growth over last year as strong consumer demand keeps up its momentum.
According to Global Port Tracker released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, U.S. ports handled 2.33 million TEUs in May, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was up 8.6 percent from April and up 52.2 percent from a year earlier. The number set a new record for the most containers imported during a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002, topping the previous record of 2.27 million TEUs set this March.
Ports have not reported June numbers yet, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.15 million TEUs, which would be up 33.8 percent from the same time last year. That would bring the first half of 2021 to 12.8 million TEUs, up 35.6 percent from the same period last year.
July is forecast at 2.21 million TEUs, up 15.1 percent year-over-year; August at 2.3 million TEUs, up 9.4 percent; September at 2.16 million TEUs, up 2.5 percent; October at 2.13 million TEUs, down 3.7 percent for the first year-over-year decline since July 2020; and November at 2.06 million TEUs, down 2 percent.
Global Port Tracker will not release its forecast for December until next month, but 2021 is on track to grow 16.7 percent over 2020's full-year total of 22 million TEUs. Cargo imports during 2020 were up 1.9 percent over 2019 despite the pandemic.
