News
Imports to U.S major container ports are forecast to see their first month-over-month gain in six months in January but expected to remain down until spring, according to a recent Global Port Tracker (GPT) report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates (HA).
The U.S. ports covered by GPT handled 2.02 million TEUs of containers in November 2025, down 2.3% from October and down 6.5% from November 2024.
Ports have not yet reported numbers for December, but GPT projects the month at 1.99 million TEUs, down 6.6% year over year. The first half of 2025 totaled 12.53 million TEUs, up 3.7%. The full year is forecast at 25.4 million TEUs, down 0.4%.
With volume forecast at 2.11 million TEUs, January is expected to see the first month-over-month increase since last July as retailers bring in merchandise prior to February's Lunar New Year holiday in Asia but would still be down 5.3% year over year. February is envisaged at 1.94 million TEUs, down 4.6%; March at 1.88 million TEUs, down 12.4%, and April at 2.03 million TEUs, down 8.1%. May is foreseen at 2.07 million TEUs, up 6.2% for the first year-over-year gain since last August.
