Business, Feature, Freight News, Sea

US Imports Rise Despite Challenges, NRF

[ July 24, 2024   //   Gary G Burrows ]

Monthly inbound cargo volume at the nation’s major container ports is continuing to rise despite a variety of supply chain challenges, according to the Global Port Tracker report released July 9 by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“Lulls between supply chain challenges seldom last long, and importers are currently looking at issues including high shipping rates, unresolved port labor negotiations and continuing capacity and congestion issues from the ongoing disruptions in the Red Sea,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. “Despite all of that, we’re experiencing the strongest surge in volume we’ve seen in two years, and that’s a good sign for what retailers expect in sales. Consumers can rest assured that retailers will be well-stocked and ready to meet demand as we head into the back-to-school and holiday seasons.”
Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett also noted growing political support for higher and broader tariffs on imported goods is expanding, and concerns over lack of a new contract with East Coast/Gulf Coast dockworkers is shifting some cargo to West Coast ports.
“The risks to global trade growth continue to increase,” Hackett said. “We are in a volatile situation with multiple pressures on the movement of goods, underpinned by continued inflationary pressures.”
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.08 million twenty-foot equivalent units in May, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was up 3 percent from April and up 7.5 percent year over year and was the highest number since 2.26 million TEU in August 2022. (The total includes estimates for the ports of New York and New Jersey, which have not reported TEU counts for May.)
Ports have not yet reported June’s numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected that volume rose to 2.1 million TEUs, up 14.5 percent year over year. July is forecast at 2.21 million TEUs, up 15.5 percent year over year; August at 2.22 million TEUs, up 13.5 percent; September at 2.1 million TEUs, up 3.5 percent; October at 2.05 million TEUs, down 0.5 percent, and November at 1.96 million TEUs, up 3.5 percent.
The first half of 2024 is expected to total 12.04 million TEUs, up 14.4 percent from the same period last year. Imports during 2023 totaled 22.3 million TEUs, down 12.8 percent from 2022.
NRF forecasts that 2024 retail sales – excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail – will grow 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent over 2023.
Global Port Tracker, produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami, Jacksonville and Houston.
The report is free to NRF retail members and is available at https://www.nrf.com/PortTracker.

Tags: National Retail Federation