Import cargo volumes return to normal levels

Year-over-year import volumes at ports covered by Global Port Tracker were up 6.1 percent in April.    The ratification of the West Coast longshore labor agreement in May helped return import cargo volumes back to normal levels following the expiration of the previous contract in July 2014.
   According to the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker report, March was a very busy month for cargo volume due to the backlog of cargo caused by the contract dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association.
   In April, volumes at ports covered by the Global Port Tracker fell 12.4 percent to 1.52 million TEUs compared to March, when volumes surged thanks to backlogged cargo after the labor dispute ended. The April totals were still up 6.1 percent from April 2014.
   After-the-fact numbers are not currently available past April, but Global Port Tracker projected that cargo volumes will increase 5 percent in May compared to the prior year; 2.6 percent in June; 4.9 percent in July; 3.3 percent in August; 0.6 percent in September; and 1.8 percent in October.
   Ports monitored by the Global Port Tracker handled 8.8 million TEUs during the first half of 2015, an increase of 5.4 percent from the first half of 2014.
   Founder Ben Hackett of Hackett Associates said in a statement June cargo volumes will continue to be volatile for West Coast ports, but believes they will see growth in July and August. He also projects growth for most East Coast ports.
   “A ‘stubbornly high’ inventory-to-sales ratio after last year’s rush to bring in adequate stocks of merchandise will couple with other economic factors to affect cargo volumes through the summer,” said Hackett.
   Global Port Tracker was developed by the consulting firm Hackett Associates for the NRF. It monitors the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Houston.