NRF: Container imports at major U.S. ports expected to rise 8 percent in April

Ports are still jammed with import cargo waiting to be loaded on trucks and trains, according to the Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.    Import container volumes at a dozen ports that handle most of the cargo for U.S. retailers is expected to rise 8 percent this month over the same time last year as West Coast ports continue to recover from a backlog of cargo that built up before a new tentative port labor agreement was signed, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
   “Progress is being made but there’s still a lot of cargo waiting to be loaded onto trucks and trains and moved across the country even after it’s unloaded from the ships,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “The situation is getting better but we’re still far from normal.”
   The Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union tentatively agreed on a five-year contract in February. While ILWU leadership has recommended that members vote for ratification, votes won’t be counted until May 22.
   Ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.2 million TEUs in February, historically the slowest month of the year. That was still down 10.3 percent from January and 3.6 percent from February 2014.
   Port Tracker estimates that the same ports handled 1.48 million TEUs in March, up 13.5 percent from 2014. April is forecast at 1.55 million TEUs, up 8 percent; May at 1.57 million TEUs, up 5.6 percent; June at 1.54 million TEUs, up 4.3 percent; July at 1.58 million TEUs, up 5.6 percent; and August at 1.61 million TEUs, up 5.7 percent.
   The first half of 2015 is forecast at a total of 8.6 million TEUs, an increase of 3 percent over the same period last year.
   “The disruption on the West Coast appears to be over and great measures are being taken to clear the backlog of ships sitting offshore,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “Of course, all those ships being discharged are causing landside issues as workers try to get containers out of the terminal gates and onto trucks and rail.”
   The Marine Exchange of Southern California said Wednesday morning that there are 12 ships at anchor outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for congestion reasons, including 8 containerships and four bulk vessels.
   Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by the consulting firm Hackett Associates, 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.