Imports Up But Lower Year-Over-Year

Imports at the leading container ports increased 5 percent in May compared with April, but were down 20 percent compared with May 2008, continuing a trend that has been present in the U.S. liner trades since the global trade recession began late last year.

Port Tracker, a monthly publication of the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight, projects that container volumes each month through October will be slightly higher than the previous month as the U.S. container trades enter the peak shipping season.

“Monthly numbers are rising as we enter the back-to-school season and will continue to do so as we build up to the holiday season, which is the cycle we see every year whether the economy is good or not,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy at the NRF.

The U.S. container gateways surveyed each month by Port Tracker handled 1.04 million TEUs in May. The monthly total is expected to increase each month until it peaks at 1.12 million TEUs in October.

May was the first time in four months that U.S. ports collectively handled more than 1 million TEUs. However, May also marked the 23rd straight month that U.S. containerized imports were down compared to the same month in the previous year.

Double-digit year-over-year declines are expected to continue for at least the next six months. Port Tracker projects that the volume in June will be down 18 percent, compared with June 2008. July is forecast to be down 16 percent; August, 17 percent, September, 18 percent; October, 17 percent; and November, 14 percent compared with the same months last year.

Port Tracker also follows port congestion, rail performance and harbor trucking capacity, and the intermodal system scored high grades in all of those areas.

“With the volumes low, the ports are clear of congestion and there’s plenty of capacity on the rails and highways,” said Paul Bingham, IHS Global Insight economist.

Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com.