Retailers are frontloading imports to beat expected August tariff increases, pushing major U.S. container ports toward a new all-time record in volume this month.
Strong cross-border volumes kept Mexico in the top U.S. trade position in February.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Retail Federation among those supporting C.H. Robinson in the brief.
Year-over-year declines in import cargo volume at major container ports are expected to continue in 2026 due to the impact of tariffs and ongoing trade policy uncertainty.
Container ports will see a more pronounced import slowdown to start 2026, the National Retail Federation predicts.
Containerized imports are likely to take a hit from earlier-than-normal stocking up by retailers and expanding tariffs through the remainder of 2025, a trade group predicts.
Import cargo at U.S. container ports is expected to decline through the end of 2025 despite near-record summer volume.
The busiest U.S. container ports saw a modest rise for import container volumes in July as shippers raced to beat the Trump administration’s early August tariff deadlines.
Retail industry trade group forecast import volumes to finish this year 5.6% behind 2024 levels.
This week in Borderlands: Experts say US Tariffs negatively impact businesses, consumers; CTPAT Informational Conference draws over 400 in Laredo; and TP Trucking and Logistics opens transload facility in Texas.
The pause in tariffs will boost containerized imports through U.S. ports this summer, according to the National Retail Federation, but at lower levels than a year ago.
After China and the United States paused tariffs, ocean shippers and carriers watch and wait to see how demand develops.
Retail sales are forecast to total as much as $5.48 trillion in 2025, according to a new forecast by the National Retail Federation.
Tariff fears will continue to drive higher volumes of containerized imports this spring, according to the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker.
American retail trade groups called for negotiations on border issues after the Trump administration levied 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada.
Retailers will continue to bring shipments forward, elevating imports through major container gateways, according to the last Global Port Tracker forecast.
Manhattan Associates and Blue Yonder were key supply chain software providers highlighting their new capabilities at NRF ’25.
Container volumes through U.S. gateway are forecast to stay ahead of year-ago levels, according to the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker.
The National Retail Federation forecasts containerized imports to continue to surge through U.S. ports ahead of a possible longshore strike and tariffs planned by the Trump administration.
As a January deadline nears, a coalition of exporters and importers calls on East Coast port employers and their longshore union to resume bargaining on a new contract.
