Port Tracker expects 1.2pc more US container imports in September
Time：2015-09-11
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"After supply chain worries earlier this year, inventories are plentiful this fall," said NRF vice president Jonathan Gold. "Shoppers should have no worries about finding what they`re looking for as they begin their holiday shopping."
Ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.62 million TEU in July, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was up 2.9 per cent from June and 8.1 per cent from July 2014.
August was estimated at 1.6 million TEU, up 5.5 per cent from 2014. September is forecast at 1.61 million TEU, up 1.2 per cent from last year; October at 1.62 million TEU, up 3.8 per cent; November at 1.5 million TEU, up 7.9 per cent, and December at 1.44 million TEU, down 0.2 per cent.
Those numbers would bring 2015 to a total of 18.2 million TEU, up 5.4 per cent from last year. The first half of 2015 totalled 8.9 million TEU, up 6.5 per cent year on year.
January 2016 is forecast at 1.44 million TEU, up 16.9 per cent from weak numbers seen a year earlier just before west coast dockers agreed on a new contract that ended a months-long labour dispute.
Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said economists have been watching a "stubbornly high" inventory-to-sales ratio this summer. But he said the cause appears to be the flood of cargo that came after the new west coast dockers` contract was signed rather than weakness in demand.
Global Port Tracker covers Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle-Tacoma, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Houston.