Retail Container Ports to See Record Cargo Levels – Report

Major retail container ports in the US are expected to see record cargo levels this summer and fall, but should be able to handle the added workload without the congestion problems that have strained the industry’s supply chains in the past, according to the July Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Industry observers have said cargo numbers this summer are higher than the peak for the entire year of 2005.

“With cargo volume running this high, it’s more important than ever to have a [software] tool like Port Tracker to keep a close watch on what’s happening at the ports,” NRF vice president and international trade counsel Erik Autor said. “Port Tracker gives retailers the head’s up they need to deal with any contingencies that might develop.”

Despite the significant increase in cargo volumes, all ports covered by Port Tracker – Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle on the west coast, and New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the east coast – are currently rated “low” for congestion, the same as last month.

Across the US, ports surveyed handled 1.34 million TEUs of container traffic in May, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. The figure was up 1.2% from April and 9% from May 2005.

According to the NRF, projected volume for June was expected to be 1.38 million TEU, already above 2005′s peak of 1.37 million TEU set last October, the traditional peak month of the shipping season. Over the six-month forecast period of the report, volume is expected to climb to a peak of 1.49 million TEU this October – up 8.7% from October 2005 – before settling to 1.39 million TEU in November.