Global Insight: 5% to 7% TEU growth rest of 2006

Global Insight: 5% to 7% TEU growth rest of 2006    Traffic at the nation’s major retail container ports dipped slightly in September but will hit another new record in October before the annual peak shipping season comes to an end, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released Friday by the National Retail Federation and consulting firm Global Insight.
   “Coming off a record year, the peak season is winding down,” said Paul Bingham, Global Insight economist. “Ports are operating without congestion, and the truck and rail systems are handling the volume. We expect the ports to be able to accommodate the projected volumes over the next six months without significant congestion and anticipate continued acceptable performance.”
   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 1.41 million TEUs of container traffic in September, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. The figure was down 1.2 percent from August, when some shippers moved holiday cargo earlier than in past years, but up 5.2 percent from September 2005.
   October is forecast at 1.45 million TEUs (up 5.8 percent from October 2005) and should continue its status as the busiest month of the year. Traffic will begin to decline for most of the remainder of the forecast period but will nonetheless continue to be above 2005 levels.
   November is forecast at 1.33 million TEUs (up 5 percent from November 2005), December at 1.29 million TEUs (up 7.5 percent from December 2005), January at 1.24 million TEUs (up 2.2 percent from January 2006) and February at 1.18 million TEUs (up 11 percent from February 2006). After hitting the bottom of the shipping cycle in February, traffic will begin to build again in March at 1.28 million TEUs (up 2.4 percent from March 2007).