NRF: U.S. container import volumes approach peak season

August is still expected to be the peak shipping month this year, even though volumes during the month are forecasted to be lower year-over-year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.    Major container ports in the United States should see a small-but-significant increase in import cargo volumes this month as merchants stock up for the back-to school season, while in the late summer and fall, they should expect an even larger increase for the holiday shipping season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
   Ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 1.63 million TEUs in May, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available, up 12.8 percent from April and 1.1 percent from May 2015.
   Looking beyond May, June volumes are expected to total 1.56 million TEUs, down 0.5 percent year-over-year; July at 1.64 million TEUs, up 1.4 percent year-over-year; August at 1.65 million TEUs, down 2 percent year-over-year; September at 1.58 million TEUs, down 2.6 percent year-over-year; October at 1.62 million TEUs, up 4.4 percent year-over-year; and November at 1.52 million TEUs, up 2.8 percent year-over-year.
   August is still expected to be the peak shipping month this year, even though volumes during the month are expected to be lower than August 2015 levels.
   Total volumes for the first half of 2016 are expected to reach 8.99 million TEUs, a 1.5 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2015.
   “Trade is holding on to a small margin of growth, but this growth comes in the face of some adverse statistics as well as positive ones,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “The good news is that retail sales have remained positive as the consumer continues to cautiously spend. The hope is that this spending will continue.”
   Global Port Tracker, which is produced by Hackett Associates for the NRF, 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.