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Retail container volumes remain low

Gold

   Cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports will be up in March over February as traffic begins its annual climb toward peak season.
   But volume for the first half of 2009 is still expected to remain well below last year's levels, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released Friday by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight.
   'February is traditionally the slowest month of the year, so we're now at the point where we'll see a gradual increase in volume as retailers bring in spring and summer merchandise and build up toward the holiday season,' said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. 'But this year's numbers are going to remain well below last year because sales are still slow and most economists aren't seeing a recovery before the second half of the year at the earliest. Careful inventory management is a key to survival for retailers in the economic times we're going through.'
   U.S. ports surveyed handled 1.05 million TEUs in January, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That was down 14.6 percent from January 2008, making January the 19th month in a row to see a year-over-year decline.
   February, traditionally the slowest month of the year, was estimated at 1 million TEUs, down 17.7 percent from 2008. March is forecast at 1.07 million TEUs, down 7.4 percent from a year earlier.
   Port Tracker predicts major retail ports will handle 6.6 million TEUs, down 11.7 percent from the 7.5 million TEUs seen in 2008.

Bingjam

   'The good news is that low volume has left the ports with an excess of capacity that means the cargo coming through is moving without congestion from the harbor to the gate,' said Paul Bingham, an economist at IHS Global Insight. “Dockside labor, trucks and intermodal rail are all readily available.'
   All U.S. ports covered by Port Tracker — Los Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast — are rated 'low' for congestion, the same as last month.