Retail Container Ports to See Record Cargo Levels

Retail Container Ports to See Record Cargo Levels

Washington, DC, July 7, 2006 — The nation’s major retail container ports are expected to see record cargo levels this summer and fall, but should be able to handle the added workload without congestion problems that have strained the industry’s supply chains in the past, according to the July Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight.

“We’re beginning to see numbers this summer that are higher than the peak for the entire year of 2005,” Global Insight Economist Paul Bingham said. “Last year’s records look like they’ve already been broken, and we should be hitting new records all summer and right up through November. Despite the volume, the ports are operating without congestion from harbor to gate and out onto the rail system. There are challenges to sustaining system performance because of the growth in volume, but we expect shippers will get through the season without significant congestion.”

“With cargo volume running this high, it’s more important than ever to have a tool like Port Tracker to keep a close watch on what’s happening at the ports,” NRF Vice President and International Trade Counsel Erik Autor said. “Port Tracker gives retailers the head’s up they need to deal with any contingencies that might develop.”

All ports covered by Port Tracker – Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle on the West Coast, and New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast – are currently rated “low” for congestion, the same as last month.

Nationwide, ports surveyed handled 1.34 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of container traffic in May, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. The figure was up 1.2 percent from April and 9 percent from May 2005.

Projected volume for June was expected to be 1.38 million TEU, already above 2005’s peak of 1.37 million TEU set last October, the traditional peak month of the shipping season. Over the six-month forecast period of the report, volume is expected to climb to a peak of 1.49 million TEU this October – up 8.7 percent from October 2005 – before settling to 1.39 million TEU in November. One TEU is a 20-foot cargo container or its equivalent.

Port Tracker, which is produced by the economic research, forecasting and analysis firm Global Insight for NRF, looks at inbound container volume, the availability of trucks and railroad cars to move cargo out of the ports, labor conditions and other factors that affect cargo movement and congestion. Subscription information is available at www.nrf.com/porttracker or by calling (202) 783-7971.

Global Insight Inc. is a privately held company that brought together the two most respected economic information companies in the world, DRI and WEFA. Global Insight provides the most comprehensive economic and financial information available on countries, regions and industries, using a unique combination of expertise, models, data and software within a common analytical framework to support planning and decision-making. Through the world's first same-day analysis and risk assessment service, Global Insight provides immediate insightful analysis of market conditions and key events around the world, covering economic, political and operational factors. The company has over 3,800 clients in industry, finance and government with revenues in excess of $80 million, over 600 employees and 23 offices in 13 countries covering North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. www.globalinsight.com

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2005 sales of $4.4 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.

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