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11/9/2021
Imports at the nation’s congested container ports are expected to remain at near-record levels for the remainder of the year as retailers rush to move merchandise from docks to shelves in time to meet the expectations of holiday shoppers, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
More than 70 ships were reported waiting to dock at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last week, and the wait at Los Angeles has averaged two weeks over the past month, NRF officials said in a press release.
Those delays, in turn, can push back the vessels’ arrival at other ports on their schedules. Some carriers have announced plans to divert to other locations, but congestion is building nationwide.
October is projected to reach 2.19 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), down 1.22% from October 2020, according to the Global Port Tracker. NRF estimates holiday retail demand to rise up to 10.5% this year over 2020. If projections hold true, October would be one of the busiest months on record since the NRF began tracking imports nearly 20 years ago.
In general, 2021 retail numbers are much higher than 2020 due to continued economic recovery after the pandemic began. The first half of 2021 totaled 12.8 million TEUs, up over 35% from the same period in 2020, and 2021 is expected to finish out strong with a new annual record topping last year’s 22 million TEUs.
“Dockworkers are unloading ships as fast as they can, but the challenge is to move the containers out of the ports to make room for the next ship,” said NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold. “Retailers have enough inventory on hand to make sure shoppers won’t go home empty-handed this holiday season. But there are still items sitting on the docks or waiting on ships that need to make it to store shelves."