IMPORTS at major US container ports saw their busiest April on record and May could turn out to have set a new all-time record as more consumers returned to normal shopping patterns, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
"Shoppers are back in stores and retail supply chains are working overtime," said NRF vice president Jonathan Gold.
"There's no shortage of demand from consumers, but there continue to be shortages of labour, equipment and shipping capacity to meet that demand. Supply chain disruptions, port congestion and rising shipping costs could continue to be challenges through the end of the year," Mr Gold said.
Said Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett: "A number of vessels taken out of service when volumes were low remain in dry-dock while others are delayed in congested ports, which face a lack of manpower because a tight labour market. Many people remain hesitant about returning to work, affecting ports, rail, trucking and distribution centres."
US ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.15 million TEU in April, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was by far the busiest April on record and an increase of 33.4 per cent year on year, when most stores were closed by the Covid crisis.
April's results followed 2.27 million TEU in March, which set the record for the most containers imported during a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002.
Ports haven't reported May numbers yet, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.32 million TEU, which would be up 51.1 per cent from the same time last year and would beat March's total to set another new record for the largest number of containers in a single month.
June is forecast at 2.13 million TEU, up 32.8 per cent; July at 2.19 million TEU, up 14.2 per cent; August at 2.26 million TEU, up 7.5 per cent; September at 2.14 million TEU, up 1.7 per cent, and October at 2.07 million TEU, down 6.5 per cent for the first year-on-year decline since July 2020.
The first half of 2021 is forecast at 12.8 million TEU, up 35.3 per cent over the same period in 2020. As with each month this spring, the year-on-year comparison is skewed because of the sharp decline in imports during the first half of last year.
But the six-month total would put 2021 on track to easily beat 2020's full-year total of 22 million TEU, which was up 1.9 per cent over 2019 despite Covid.
Global Port Tracker covers Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the west coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the east coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
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