NRF: Retail cargo imports set new record as economy recovers

Imports at U.S. container ports hit a new record this spring and volume during the first half of 2021 is expected to be one-third higher than last year as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.27 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in March, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was up 21.2% from February and set a new record for the number of containers logged during a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002. The previous record of 2.21 million TEUs was set last October.

March volume was up a record 64.9% year over year but the growth rate was artificially high because many Asian factories had shut down due to the pandemic at this point last year and most U.S. stores were being ordered to close.

First-half volume is forecast to be up 33.9% versus the same period in 2020. As with March, the growth is skewed because of the sharp decline in imports during the first half of 2020. But the projected six-month total of 12.7 million TEUs would put 2021 on track to beat 2020’s full-year total of 22 million TEUs, which was up 1.9% over 2019 despite the pandemic.