New research forecasts that imports to American ports will fall to the lowest level in nearly two years by the end of 2022.
The National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates last week released their monthly Global Port Tracker, which found that U.S. ports in August handled 2.26 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) — 20-foot containers or their equivalent — representing a 0.4 percent decline from the year prior.
The final numbers are not yet in for September but those are expected to report a three percent year-over-year drop. NRF is forecasting imports to fall 4.9 percent in November and 6.1 percent in December. The December forecast, if correct, would represent the lowest level of TEUs since February 2021.
