U.S. retailers expect import growth through the first half of 2024 despite continued delays at the Suez Canal and terrorist attacks on ships in the Red Seas, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
The Global Port Tracker (GPT) predicts U.S. imports will increase 20.4% year-over-year in February compared to the 13.8% increase predicted in last month’s report. The tracker also increased the year-on-year gains for March (up 5.5% vs. 4.7%), April (up 2.6% vs. 0.2%), and May (up 0.3% vs. a decline of 0.8%).
