Posted on August 11, 2021
June in-bound container activity eases from May, 33.7% ahead of June last year
WASHINGTON – Imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports should hit yet another record in August as consumer demand continues to stretch supply chains and retailers shift from the back-to-school season to the peak shipping season for winter holiday merchandise, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“Back-to-school supplies have been hit by the same supply chain disruptions and port congestion that have affected other products this year, but retailers are working hard to ensure that school and college goods are where they need to be,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in a release. “Strong consumer demand has outpaced supply chain operations since late last year and could remain a challenge as the holidays approach.
“The continuing lack of labor, equipment and capacity has highlighted systemic issues and the need to create a truly 21st-century supply chain to ensure resiliency against the next major disruption. Passage of infrastructure legislation currently pending in Congress is a key step in that direction. We need continued focus by the administration to help address these issues as well.”
Continued economic expansion keeps straining the supply chain, added Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett.
“We’re seeing a lack of shipping capacity combined with port congestion as vessels line up to discharge goods from both Asia and Europe,” he continued. “Delays are stretching to landside as port terminals struggle with space shortages, and labor challenges are affecting ports, railroads and trucking companies alike. This part of the recovery is not a pretty sight.”
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.15 million twenty-foot equivalent units in June, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was down 7.8% from May but up 33.7% from a year earlier, when many stores were closed because of the pandemic.
Port Tracker projects July container traffic at 2.22 million TEUs, which would be up 15.7% from the same month last year. August, the beginning of “peak season,” is forecast at 2.37 million TEUs, which would be up 12.6% year-over-year and top May’s 2.33 million TEUs for the largest number of containers imported during a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002. Many retailers are moving up their shipments this year as part of their risk mitigation strategies to ensure that sufficient inventory will be available during the holidays.
September is forecast at 2.21 million TEUs, up 4.9% year-over-year; October at 2.15 million TEUs, down 3% for the first year-over-year decline since July 2020; November at 2.07 million TEUs, down 1.5%, and December at 2.02 million TEUs, down 4.1%.
The first half of 2021 totaled 12.8 million TEUs, up 35.6% from the same period last year. For the full year, 2021 is on track to total 25.9 million TEUs, up 17.5% over 2020 and a new annual record topping last year’s 22 million. Cargo imports during 2020 were up 1.9% over 2019 despite the pandemic.
Global Port Tracker provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
