News
Imports at major retail container ports in the U.S. should see near-record volumes again this month as retailers are working to meet still-strong consumer demand and protecting themselves against potential disruptions at West Coast ports, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released recently by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.26 million TEUs of containers in April, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was down 3.6% from March's 2.34 million TEUs, the record for the number of containers imported in a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002, but up 5.1% year over year.
Ports have not yet reported May numbers, but Global Port Tracker projects the month at 2.31 million TEUs, down 0.9% from 2.33 million TEUs in May 2021, the second-busiest month on record. June is also forecast at 2.31 million TEUs, up 7.5% year over year, which would leave May and June tied for the third-highest volume.
