NRF: U.S. container imports steady despite Hanjin’s bankruptcy

Major container ports in the United States handled 1.63 million TEUs in July, up 3.2 percent from June and 0.7 percent from July 2015, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.    Import volumes at major container ports in the United States should remain at “near-peak levels” in September despite issues caused by the recent bankruptcy of South Korean ocean carrier Hanjin Shipping, 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 July 2016, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available, an increase of 3.2 percent from June and 0.7 percent compared with the same 2015 period.
   The report forecasts August volumes at 1.67 million TEUs, the busiest month of the year due to the annual build up to holiday shopping season, but still a 0.4 percent decrease from the prior year.
   Looking ahead to the remainder of 2016, September import volumes are projected to reach 1.62 million TEUs, down 0.2 percent year-over-year; October at 1.63 million TEUs, up 5.3 percent; November at 1.53 million TEUs, up 3.8 percent; and December at 1.49 million TEUs, up 3.6 percent.
   Total volumes in the first half of 2016 grew 1.6 percent to 9 million TEUs compared with the first six months of 2015.
   For the full year, volumes are expected to total 18.6 million TEUs, a 1.8 percent increase from the previous year.
   “Despite the apparent slowdown in economic activity being reported around the world, the volume of imports continues to grow slowly, much along the lines that we have been projecting,” said Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett.
   “Hanjin should not significantly affect volume for the month since alternative arrangements to unload those containers or shift cargo elsewhere should be dealt with by the time the numbers are tallied,” added NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold.
   “But millions of dollars worth of merchandise is in limbo at the moment, and retailers are working hard to make sure it ends up on store shelves in time for the holidays.”
   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.