News
Retail sales in the U.S. grew 7.5% year on year in January-August, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. It is projected that they will grow between 6% and 8% this year. “Many retailers brought in merchandise early this year to beat rising inflation and ongoing supply chain disruption issues,” said NRF Vice-President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold. It is analyzed, however, that they have been in a declining mode since summer.
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled a total of 2.26 million TEUs of containers in August, down 0.4% from a year earlier but up 3.5% from a month earlier. Global Port Tracker projects 2.07 million TEUs in September, down 3%. October is forecast at 2 million TEUs, down 9.4% year over year; November at 2.01 million TEUs, down 4.9%, and December at 1.96 million TEUs, down 6.1%. The December number would be the lowest since 1.87 million TEUs in February 2021, which was the last time the monthly total fell below 2 million TEUs. The forecast for the remainder of the year would bring the second half to 12.5 million TEUs, down 4%. For the full year, 2022 is expected to total 26 million TEUs, up 0.7% from last year's annual record of 25.8 million TEUs.
