The National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight said that major U.S. ports would soon see their first year-over-year growth in nearly three years.

“This could be the turnaround we’ve been waiting to see for a long
time,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and
customs policy. “There’s not enough data yet to establish a clear
trend, but we’re hopeful that this is a sign of recovery.”

In the most recent data for September 2009, container imports were 16
percent below September 2008, and 3 percent below August 2009.

Global Insight projected that in the traditional peak month of October,
U.S. ports will receive 1.09 million TEUs, down 15 percent from a year
ago.

However, the gap begins to narrow in projections for December, 1.06
million TEUs about par with a year ago. Volume for January 2010 is
expected to be 1.02 million, down only 3 percent from January 2009.
Volume will not top 1 million in February, the slowest month of the
year, which leaves March as the likely month for the first positive
growth with a projected volume of 1.02 million TEUs.

“The second half of 2009 has continued to see declines from 2008’s
levels, but not as large as we saw during the first half of this year,”
IHS Global Insight Economist Paul Bingham said. “These ‘less bad’
numbers are evidence that the industry is seeing early signs of
recovery.”

The IHS Global Insight Port Tracker monitors the country’s major
container ports, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle/Tacoma, New
York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, and Houston.

Source: Journal of Commerce

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