NRF: Major U.S. container ports see record imports in July

Ports covered by the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker handled 1.78 million TEUs of imports in July, the highest monthly volume recorded since the report began in 2000, but growth is expected to slow in 2018.    Major retail container ports across the United States are expected to collectively set a new yearly import record for 2017, according to the latest monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
   In July alone, ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 1.78 million TEUs of imports, the highest monthly volume recorded since the NRF began tracking imports in 2000, beating the prior record of 1.73 million TEUs set in March 2015.
   The July result, which was the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available, was up 5 percent from June and 9.2 percent from July 2016.
   August figures are already starting to surface at ports across the nation, with the Port of Long Beach handling 355,715 TEUs of loaded imports during the month, up 10.6 percent year-over-year, while the Port of Virginia handled 113,118 TEUs of loaded imports, up 5.5 percent from August 2016.
   “Consumers are buying more, and retailers are scrambling to import more merchandise to keep up with the demand,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Docks have been busier than ever as ships unload cargo headed for store shelves, and that’s a good sign both for retail sales and the nation’s economy.”
   Looking ahead, the Global Port Tracker Report forecasts the following import figures for each month for ports covered across the Global Port Tracker, compared to the same month in 2016:
     • August at 1.71 million TEUs, down 0.1 percent;
     • September at 1.67 million TEUs, up 4.7 percent;
     • October at 1.7 million TEUs, up 2 percent;
     • November at 1.61 million TEUs, down 2.3 percent;
     • And December at 1.58 million TEUs, up 0.5 percent.
   Those numbers would bring 2017 to a total of 19.7 million TEUs, up 4.8 percent from the previous record of 18.8 million TEUs set in 2016.
   Despite the record imports, Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said that cargo volume increases are expected to slow in the coming year.
   “2017 is turning out to be a bumper year, causing a sense that growth is unstoppable,” Hackett said. “Taking this view is risky, however. As we look forward, our models are projecting a slowdown. The positive takeaway is that this is a slowdown in growth, not an actual reduction in volume.”
   Global Port Tracker, which is produced by Hackett Associates for the NRF, covers the U.S. ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Houston.