US retail imports to hit record numbers: NRF

“Imports continue to be the primary source of high-quality, mass-produced necessities at affordable prices and will be for the foreseeable future. If tariffs are imposed on consumer goods, that will only drive up prices for American families while doing little or nothing to punish those responsible for unfair trade practices,” an NRF press release quoted Gold as saying.

“Despite an environment where the US administration is enacting measures that could well lead to a trade war with most of its Asian and European trading partners, we see imports continuing to grow,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said, noting that manufacturers have seen increased orders that reflect solid consumer demand.

Ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 1.63 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in April, which was down by 5.8 per cent from March and up 0.3 per cent year-over-year. A TEU is one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent.

May was estimated at 1.77 million TEU, up 1.3 per cent year-over-year. The first half of 2018 is expected to total 10.2 million TEU, an increase of 3.8 per cent over the first half of 2017. The total for 2017 was 20.5 million TEU, up 7.6 per cent from 2016’s previous record of 19.1 million TEU. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India