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6/9/2020
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on major U.S. retail container ports appears to be easing slightly, with projected imports remaining below last year's levels but not as much as previously forecast, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates announced yesterday.
"The numbers we're seeing are still below last year, but are better than we expected a month ago," said NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold in a press release. "It may be too soon to say, but we'll take that as a sign that the situation could be slowly starting to improve. Consumers want to get back to shopping, and as more people get back to work, retailers want to be sure their shelves are stocked."
U.S. ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 1.61 million 20 foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in April, down 7.8 percent from a year earlier, but up 17 percent from a four-year low logged in March and significantly better than the 1.51 TEUs previously expected.
May is estimated at 1.58 million TEUs, down 14.6 year over year, but up from the 1.47 million forecast a month ago. June is forecast at 1.56 million TEUs, down 12.9 percent from last year, but up from the previous forecast of 1.46 million TEUs, NRF officials said.