Container Traffic Rebounding Slowly at Nation's Ports
Retail container traffic at the nation’s ports continues to be in a go-slow mood, which is expected to last through August.
The National Retail Federation, in its “Port Tracker Report,” said container traffic is beginning to build back up gradually following a slow winter, but it will be rather lackluster until this fall.“Import container traffic is forecasted to be quite weak through August due to the underlying weakness in demand in the U.S. economy,” said economist Paul Bingham of Global Insight, which monitors the ports for the NRF.
In February, ports surveyed by Global Insight handled 1.24 million 20-foot containers, down 5.4 percent from the previous February. That makes it the seventh month in a row that container traffic in the United States has declined at major ports such as Los Angeles/Long Beach, Calif.; Oakland, Calif.; Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.; New York/New Jersey; Charleston, S.C.; and Savannah, Ga.
Container traffic in March is expected to be up 1.1 percent, April should rise 1.7 percent and May is forecasted to dip 1 percent. For the summer, June will tumble 4.9 percent, July will be down slightly and August should hold even.
Currently, there is no container traffic congestion at any of the country’s major ports. —D.B.
