Retail Imports Expected to Hit Record Numbers this Summer Despite Tariff Threat
Imports at the United States’ significant retail container ports are anticipated to establish document numbers this summer season and also drop also as the discussion over profession and also tolls proceeds in Washington, according to the month-to-month Global Port Tracker record launched today by the National Retail Federation and also Hackett Associates.
According to the, ports covered managed 1.63 million TEU in April, down 5.8 percent from March and also up 0.3 percent year-over-year. A TEU is one 20-foot-long freight container or its comparable.
May was approximated at 1.77 million TEU, up 1.3 percent year-over-year, nonetheless after-the-fact numbers are not yet in.
June is anticipated at 1.78 million TEU, up 3.7 percent; July at 1.88 million TEU, up 4.1 percent; August at 1.91 million TEU, up 4 percent; September at 1.83 million TEU, up 2.3 percent; and also October at 1.9 million, up 5.7 percent.
The numbers anticipated for July, August and also October would certainly each defeat the previous document of 1.83 million TEU imported throughout a solitary month, which was embeded in August 2017.
The initial fifty percent of 2018 is anticipated to complete 10.2 million TEU, a boost of 3.8 percent over the initial fifty percent of 2017. The total amount for 2017 was 20.5 million TEU, up 7.6 percent from 2016’s previous document of 19.1 million TEU.
The Global Port Tracker record is created for NRF by the consulting companyHackett Associates It covers the united state ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and also Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and also Jacksonville on the East Coast, and also Houston on the Gulf Coast.
“Consumers are buying more and that means retailers are importing more,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and also Customs Policy Jonathan Gold claimed. “Imports continue to be the primary source of high-quality, mass-produced necessities at affordable prices and will be for the foreseeable future. If tariffs are imposed on consumer goods, that will only drive up prices for American families while doing little or nothing to punish those responsible for unfair trade practices.”
“Despite an environment where the U.S. administration is enacting measures that could well lead to a trade war with most of its Asian and European trading partners, we see imports continuing to grow,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett claimed, keeping in mind that producers have actually seen raised orders that mirror strong customer need. “This suggests that neither industry nor consumers really believe that President Trump will push through with his proposed tariffs. Let’s hope that they are right.”