Global Insight: Port volume to break records twice in two months

Global Insight: Port volume to break records twice in two months    Traffic at the port of New York and New Jersey and the nation's major retail container ports should hit a record high in July, then immediately break that record in August, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released Friday by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight.
   'We expect to break records twice this summer and that's before we even get to the peak of the season this fall,' said Paul Bingham, Global Insight economist. 'July should surpass numbers we didn't see until October last year, and August will go higher. The docks, rails and trucks are keeping up, so as long as we don't see any new weather disruptions, shippers can expect acceptable system performance for the next six months.'
   July is forecast at 1.54 million TEUs of container traffic, breaking last October's 1.51 million, while August is forecast at 1.57 million TEUs.
   'The ports are going to be busier than ever this summer,' said Erik Autor, NRF vice president and international trade counsel. 'It's crucial that retailers keep a close eye on these numbers to ensure that the goods end up on store shelves when and where they're needed.'
   All U.S. ports covered by Port Tracker — New York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast; Los Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle on the West Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast — are rated 'low' for congestion, the same as last month.
   Nationwide, the ports surveyed handled 1.24 million TEUs of container traffic in March, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That was down 5 percent from February and 4 percent from March 2006.
   Volume headed up again in April, which was estimated at 1.42 million TEUs (up 2.8 percent from April 2006).
   Further monthly volume forecasts are:
   * May, 1.44 million TEUs, up 5.1 percent from May 2006.
   * June, 1.48 million TEUs, up 5.1 percent from June 2006.
   * July, 1.54 million TEUs, up 10.1 percent from July 2006.
   * August, 1.57 million TEUs, up 5.8 percent from August 2006.
   * September, 1.53 million TEUs, up 3 percent from September 2006.