NRF: Growth still expected as ‘slow? season begins

NRF: Growth still expected as ôslowö season begins Traffic at the nation's major retail container ports is slowing down for the winter after hitting its annual peak in October, but will still show increases above last year, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight.
   'The slow season is starting but we're still expecting growth,' said Global Insight Economist Paul Bingham in a statement. 'Even as volume trails off over the winter, we'll still see an increase in volume when compared to the same month a year ago. In the meantime, the ports are operating without congestion, and the truck and rail systems are now improving performance following the peak months. No significant congestion is expected at the ports over the next six months as the industry prepares for next year's peak season.'
   All ports covered by Port Tracker ' Los Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle on the West Coast, and New York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast ' are rated 'low' for congestion, the same as last month.
   Nationwide, the ports surveyed handled 1.43 million TEUs of container traffic in October, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. The figure was up 1.4 percent from September and 4.5 percent from October 2005.