US Box Imports Booming As Congestion Clears

Containerised import volumes at US ports have shot up since the resolution of the west coast labour dispute, according to the latest Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation.
Ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled a record-high 1.7m teu in March, the latest month for which numbers are available.
Driven up by a sudden surge of backlogged cargo from vessels that were sitting at anchor waiting to be discharged after the labour dispute ended, the number was up 44.9% from February and 33.1% from March 2014.

Containerised import volumes at US ports have shot up since the resolution of the west coast labour dispute, according to the latest Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation.
Ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled a record-high 1.7m teu in March, the latest month for which numbers are available.
Driven up by a sudden surge of backlogged cargo from vessels that were sitting at anchor waiting to be discharged after the labour dispute ended, the number was up 44.9% from February and 33.1% from March 2014.
“Dockworkers and management made a massive push to clear the backlog of cargo over the past several weeks and west coast ports are getting back to normal, despite concerns such as the Teamster picketing seen in Los Angeles and Long Beach earlier this month,” NRF vice-president Jonathan Gold said.
“We hope to see this month’s ratification vote go smoothly and then settle into a long period of efficient, dependable operations before we have to think about contract talks again. But there are still plenty of other issues impacting congestion that the ports need to work through.”
The combined import volume at the monitored west coast ports surged by 425,000 teu between February and March, which equates to a 58.1% spike, according to Hackett Associates, which produces the report.
“Every port set a record level for the month of March, and Oakland reached an all-time high. The total import volume was a record high of 1.2m teu, which equates to a 37.1% jump over last year,” the report said.
“Each of the ports posted a double-digit percentage increase over both February and year on year. The forecast for 2015 projects a 3.9% increase in imports, with a total of 12.2m teu.”
On the east coast, which became the port of entry for much of the cargo unable to land at west coast ports during the disruption, combined import volumes surged by 22.7% or 136,000 teu in March. The ports of New York/New Jersey, Virginia, Savannah and Everglades all reached record highs.
“The total import volume for the month was a record high of 734,000 teu, which is 25.4% higher than the same month of 2014,” the report said.
“With the exception of Miami, every port posted a double-digit percentage increase over February, and with the exception of Port Everglades, every port posted a double-digit gain year on year.
"The forecast for 2015 currently projects a 5.6% increase in imports, with a total of 7.8m teu."
Global Port Tracker covers the US ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the west coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades and Miami on the east coast, and Houston on the US Gulf coast.