Imports

Total February POLA volume—at 544,037 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—saw a 22.9% annual decline. At the Port of Long Beach, total February volume—at 538,428 TEU—saw a 9.8% annual decline.

The trade war, in a sense, has become an extension of an ongoing “quest” for shippers to truly be ready for anything.

The most recent edition of the Port Tracker Report issued by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates late last week indicted that import levels and United States-based retail container ports are pegged to see growth in the coming months, with retailers boosting inventory levels in advance of increased tariffs.

For more than a little while, much has been made of what has been viewed as strong economic growth. To what degree, though, varies based on the person or the source. According to President Trump, as per his State of the Union speech in February, the economy is experiencing “an economic miracle,” whereas others note that while things have been relatively solid and stable, there are also some causes for concern.

Even with a new round of tariffs having recently gone into effect, United States-bound imports are pegged to stay at what are being described as record-high levels, according to data in the new edition of the Port Tracker report, which was issued today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates.

POLB处理752188标准箱(TEU)Units in June, which stands as the busiest volume month in its history and marks a 14.2% annual improvement. The previous best month was July 2017, which June 2018 surpassed by 4.4%. POLA handled 723,141 TEU in June, which was down 1.1% annually. But even with the decline, POLA officials said that this marks the second fiscal year period in which the port has topped the 9.1 million TEU mark, with 24 months of “record-breaking cargo movement.”

February shipments, at 949,198, rose 13% annually, marking the fastest rate of growth going back to February 2016.

POLA said it processed 725,059 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in February, which represents a 16% annual gain and the highest-volume February in the port’s 111 years of operation. POLB February volumes rose 32.8% to 661,790 TEU for an all-time high for the month, which comes on the heels of an all-time high in January of 657,830 TEU. POLB officials said that this marks the first time ever that POLB terminals handled more than 600,000 TEU in February.

Saying that President Trump’s announcement yesterday calling for 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports was surprising and that can probably be viewed as an understatement to be sure.

January shipments, at 1,006,861, were up 7.7% annually compared to 934,447 in January 2017. Panjiva said this marks the fastest rate of growth in a month going back to April 2017, as well as outpacing the cumulative 4.1% growth rate for all of 2017, which it noted was a record year for U.S.-bound shipments in aggregate.

November shipments were up 3.9% annually to 979,797 topping October’s 1,016,892. Import volumes have been up for nine consecutive months and 16 of the past 17 months. In 2017, U.S.-bound shipments have been up every month except for February.

June shipments at 958,294 were up 2.8% annually, which was off from May’s 3.3% annual spread.

April shipments at 950,408 saw a 9.7% gain on an annual basis, which Panjiva said represents the fastest rate of growth going back to February 2016, and comes on the heels of a 8.7% annual gain in April that led to a 17.3% annual increase in the U.S. trade deficit.

The company said the February imports––at 837,700––marked an 8 percent annual decline, representing the first time there was not an annual increase since June 2016.

Total POLA January volume was up 17.4 percent annually at 826,640 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), marking the highest-volume January in its 110-year history, and POLB January volumes rose 8.7 percent annually to 582,689 TEU.