Summer Shipping Nears, Ports are Running Smoothly

All ports covered by Port Tracker are rated as low for congestion for the first quarter of the year. The ports surveyed are projected to see volumes grow to a peak of 1.45 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) in August then dip to 1.4 million TEU in September. These figures represent an increase of 9.4% in August, year over year, and a jump of 4.5% for September.

Port Tracker is a report produced by the economic research, forecasting and analysis firm Global Insight for the National Retail Federation. Global Insight Economist, Paul Bingham, says that, “The 2006 peak season outlook is for continued good performance, although continued challenges to system performance remain with the continued growth in trade. There are renewed concerns with port trucking and congestion at the Panama Canal that add a note of caution . . . but we expect the industry will be able to manage without serious terminal or network congestion.”

Factors considered in Port Tracker include inbound container volume, availability of trucks and railroad cars to move cargo out of the ports, labor conditions and other factors that affect cargo movement and congestion.

Ports included in the survey are Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah.