Port Tracker report calling for typical seasonal holiday retail import patterns

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State of Logistics 2016: Pursue mutual benefit Port Tracker report calling for typical seasonal holiday retail import patterns ATA says more work is needed on DOT’s speed limiter proposal AAR reports annual U.S. carload and intermodal declines for September 2016 Q&A: Jett McCandless, CEO and Co-Founder of project44 More Logistics News European Logistics Update: Post-Brexit U.K. moving ahead, but in which direction? While speculation and uncertainty abounds, freight transportation and logistics industry leaders contend that it’s important for all involved to keep a cool head and begin planning for the new phase after the U.K. leaves the EU. All Resources As the calendar continues to move along, numbers for United States-bound retail imports are expected to be typical seasonal gains, according to the most recent edition of the Port Tracker report issued late last week by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates. The ports surveyed in the report include: Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle, Houston, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, and Savannah, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Port Everglades. Authors of the report explained that cargo import numbers do not correlate directly with retail sales or employment because they count only the number of cargo containers brought into the country, not the value of the merchandise inside them, adding that the amount of merchandise imported provides a rough barometer of retailers’ expectations. “The holidays are nearly here, and from warehouses to store shelves, retailers are making sure they have the merchandise on hand to meet consumers’ demands,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in a statement. “November and December are the busiest time for holiday shopping, but [October] is the month for the behind-the-scenes supply chain work that ensures shoppers will find what they want, where they […]