US box imports continue setting records

US container import volumes are continue set records and add to pressures on ports and other logistics infrastructure to meet the boom in demand, with supply chain disruptions, port congestion and rising shipping costs set to continue throughout 2021.

Imports at the largest retail container ports in the US saw their busiest April on record, and May could also set a new all-time monthly record, “as vaccines allowed consumers to return to normal shopping patterns”, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released yesterday by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold commented: “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.

“Vaccine rates are increasing, shoppers are back in stores, and retail supply chains are working overtime.”

Analysis by Sea-Intelligence indicates that as of April, US imports were “at the same point as they would have been without the pandemic, but with a 10% annual growth for two years in a row,” according to the container shipping specialist’s CEO Alan Murphy. “This is an extremely high growth rate and would under any circumstances put the port and hinterland infrastructure under severe pressure.”

Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said: “Supply chains are finding it difficult to keep up with demand as shipping capacity struggles. 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 both because of COVID-19 illnesses and the 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% from a year earlier, when most US stores were closed by the coronavirus pandemic. 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% 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% year-over-year; July at 2.19 million TEU, up 14.2 percent; August at 2.26 million TEU, up 7.5%; September at 2.14 million TEU, up 1.7%, and October at 2.07 million TEU, down 6.5% for the first year-over-year decline since July 2020.

The first half of 2021 is forecast at 12.8 million TEU, up 35.3% over the same period in 2020.

“As with each month this spring, the year-over-year comparison is skewed because of the sharp decline in imports during the first half of last year,” the report noted. “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 percent over 2019 despite the pandemic.”

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the US ports of 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.

Hackett Associates provides consulting, research and advisory services to the international maritime industry, government agencies and international institutions.