Retail Container Traffic Seen Up 8 Percent in April

Imports continue to gain traction at U.S. ports, with the container volume in April projected to increase 8 percent over the same month last year.

The Global Port Tracker, published monthly by the National Retail Federation and Ben Hackett Associates, projects steady growth in containerized imports through the summer months.

"Retail sales are starting to improve and retailers are importing merchandise in the quantities they need to meet the demand," said Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy at the retail organization.

Containerized imports began to pick up late last year as the United States worked its way out of the worst recession since the 1930s.

Imports in February were up 20 percent compared to the very low month of February 2009, and that marked the third straight month that imports were higher than the same month the previous year. That followed a losing streak of 28 straight months in which imports had dropped compared to the same month the previous year.

February also marked what is expected to be the low point for the year at U.S. container ports in 2010. Imports were down 6 percent from January as retailers took a breather from restocking their inventories.

When the March numbers are verified, Global Port Tracker projects that imports will be 6 percent higher than in March 2009. Imports are projected to be up 8 percent in April, 7 percent in May, 17 percent in June, 12 percent in July 12 and 15 percent in August compared to the same months last year.

"Retailers are maintaining lean inventories during the recession but are carefully building back up," said Ben Hackett, president of Hackett Associates.

Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com.