NRF: U.S. container imports to grow in first half of 2015

Ports covered by the Global Port Tracker report are expected to handle 8.8 million TEUs throughout the first half of 2016, a 4.5 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2015, according to the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.    Import cargo volumes at major U.S. container ports are expected to increase in the first half of 2016 compared to the corresponding period in 2015, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
   Ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled a total of 18.2 million TEUs in 2015, a 5.3 percent increase from 2014, and are expected to handle 8.8 million TEUs throughout the first half of 2016, a 4.5 percent jump from the corresponding period in 2015.
   In December 2015, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available, the ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 1.43 million TEUs, down 3.4 percent from November and 0.8 percent from December 2014.
   NRF estimates those ports handled 1.46 million TEUs in January 2016, an 18.3 percent year-over-year increase.
   Looking forward to the rest of 2016, February is forecast at 1.39 million TEUs, a 16.2 percent year-over-year increase; March at 1.35 million TEUs, a 22.4 percent year-over-year decline; April at 1.49 million TEUs, a 1.2 percent year-over-year decline; May at 1.57 million TEUs, a 2.6 percent year-over-year decline; and June at 1.55 million TEUs, a 1.2 percent decline.
   “Comparisons with last year are difficult because of the surge of cargo after problems at West Coast ports ended, but we think consumers will continue to increase their spending this year and retailers will be ready,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said of the report.
   Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by 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.