Import cargo volume at the nation’s nine major retail container ports will remain below last year’s levels for the
remainder of the summer before seeing year-over-year
gains again this fall as retailers begin to stock up for the
holiday season, according to the monthly “Global Port
Tracker” report released by the National Retail Federation
(NRF) and consultancy Hackett Associates.
“Cargo numbers have been down this summer, but that’s
a reflection of last year’s unusual shipping patterns more
than the economy,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF’s vice president
for supply chain and customs policy, in a statement. “The
economy continues to face challenges, but job growth has
been steady and retailers have been adding jobs themselves
as sales improve. Cargo figures for this fall clearly show that
retailers are expecting a healthy holiday season.”
U.S. ports followed by the Global Port Tracker handled
1. 25 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in June, the
latest month for which numbers are available. That was
down 2. 6 percent from May and 5.0 percent from June 2010.
June’s volume broke an 18-month streak of year-over-year improvement dating to December 2009, and declines
Study: Port import traffic to
rebound in fall
ground breakers
Saddle Creek Corp., a third-party logistics service
provider, is expanding its nationwide network with
the addition of two new facilities in Chicago and
Jacksonville, Fla. … Verst Group Logistics has broken
ground on a 200,000-square-foot addition to its contract packaging facility in Hebron, Ky. After the
expansion is completed, the company plans to add 25
new jobs.
continued in July, which was estimated at 1. 3 million TEUs,
down 5. 7 percent from July 2010. August is forecast at 1. 4
million TEUs, a 1.6-percent decrease from a year ago.
Rather than reflecting an economic downturn, however,
the numbers are a skewed comparison against higher-than-normal numbers last summer when fears of shortages in
shipping capacity caused many retailers to bring holiday
merchandise into the country earlier than usual, according
to the report. Actual retail sales have seen 12 straight
months of growth, according to the report.
Year-over-year increases are expected to resume in
September, which is forecast at 1. 48 million TEUs, up 10. 4
percent from last year. ;
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