US retail ports handle 2.27mn TEU in March as economy recovers: Report

According to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, the previous record was 2.21 million TEU set last October. A TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent.

March volume was up a record 64.9 per cent year-over-year but the growth rate was artificially high because many Asian factories had shut down because of the pandemic at that point last year and most US stores were being ordered to close.

The report said that the first half of 2021 is forecast to be up 33.9 per cent from the same period in 2020. As with March, the growth is skewed because of the sharp decline in imports during the first half of last year. But the six-month total of 12.7 million TEU would put 2021 on track to beat 2020’s full-year total of 22 million TEU, which was up 1.9 per cent over 2019 despite the pandemic.

April 2021 is projected at 2.17 million TEU, up 34.5 per cent year-over-year, as per the report. May is forecast at 2.22 million TEU, up 44.9 per cent; June at 2.08 million TEU, up 29.7 per cent; July at 2.15 million TEU, up 12.2 per cent; August at 2.23 million TEU, up 6 per cent, and September at 2.13 million TEU, up 1.3 per cent.

The ongoing high cargo volume reflects the recovering US economy. Gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 6.4 per cent in the first quarter and some economists are predicting 13 per cent in the second quarter.

“Despite the continuing pandemic, most consumers are in good financial health and aren’t hesitating to spend,” NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold said. “More spending translates into more merchandise arriving at our ports as retailers continue to meet increasing demand. The cargo surge that began last fall doesn’t show any sign of stopping. Unfortunately, disruption and congestion issues are also continuing.”

Congestion at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the nation’s largest ports – has begun to ease as carriers have shifted vessels to the Pacific Northwest or to the East Coast via the Panama Canal, Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. But some ships are still facing delays to unload as ports work at capacity and COVID-19 infections impact workers. Shortages of containers and other equipment and operational issues also continue to slow down the supply chain.

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the US 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.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)