Ports see imports in four-year trough

From Home Textiles Today -- Home Accents Today, 11/11/2008 8:41:00 AM

Washington – The monthly Port Tracker projects total 2008 cargo volume at the lowest level since 2004, as volume fell again in October.

Port Tracker, conducted for the National Retail Federation by IHS Global Insight, showed estimated October volume of at 1.36 million TEU (Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units), the peak month for 2008 – but down 5.7% from October 2007.

Retailers throughout 2008 have regularly stated their commitment to reducing inventories – in yesterday’s monthly sales reports for example, most chains said they had cut comparable store inventory by anywhere from 5% to 13% – and this effort is directly reflected in the cargo handling volume at the nation’s ports.

The current Port Tracker projection for the full year is 15.3 million TEU, down 7.2% from 16.5 million TEU for all of 2007. In 2004, 14 million TEU moved through the ports, said HIS. 

Port Tracker covers Long Beach, Calif., Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.