Traffic at the major US container ports dropped below last year's levels for the second consecutive month in September, and is expected to continue to be flat or below last year's levels for the remainder of the peak shipping season, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight.
"Container traffic is expected to continue at a slow pace due to weakness in the US economy," said Paul Bingham, a Global Insight economist. "Volumes will continue to decline, but all ports are rated low for congestion, as are truck and rail operations."
"The low volumes at the ports reflect retailers' cautious expectations for sales during the holiday season," added Jonathan Gold, vice-president for supply chain and Customs policy at the NRF. "These numbers show that retailers are carefully managing their inventories so that supply won't exceed demand."
Ports surveyed handled 1.46 million TEUs in September, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That's down about 0.4 percent from August, and 1.9 percent from September 2006. August traffic fell 1.4 percent from a year earlier.
October, traditionally the peak month as retailers stock shelves for the holiday selling season, was estimated at about 3,300 containers short of the record of 1.51 million TEUs set in October 2006, or a year-to-year decline of 0.2 percent.
November is forecast essentially flat at 1.41 million TEUs. December will see a year-to-year gain of 6.4 percent at 1.39 million TEUs, and January will be up 5.9 percent year-to-year at 1.37 million TEUs, the survey predicted.
February, usually a slack month, will be down 1.3 percent year-over-year at 1.29 million TEUs.
All US ports covered by Port Tracker ¡ª Los Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle on the West Coast; New York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast ¡ª are rated low for congestion, the same as October
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