Smoother Flow Expected at Ports

June 7, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on June 2006 Retailers and suppliers have hope of relief this summer and fall for the peak-season congestion that has plagued major U.S. container ports in recent years.

That’s according to the June Port Tracker report released Monday from the National Retail Federation and Global Insights. Analyst Global Insights produces the report, which examines volume intermodal transport availability and other factors affecting shipping, for the NRF.

The report covers Los Angeles/Long Beach; Oakland, Calif.; Tacoma, Wash.; and Seattle on the West Coast; and New York/New Jersey; Hampton Roads, Va.; Savannah, Ga.; and Charleston, S.C., on the East Coast. All those ports currently rate “low” for congestion, the same as May.

“The ramp-up into peak season is now underway, with monthly container volume building through October,” said Paul Bingham, economist for Global Insight. “There is no congestion at ports now, and the truck and rail systems are operating fluidly. A number of challenges with continued growth in volume remain, and there are concerns with port trucking for later this year, but the backlog of ships without reservations at the Panama Canal has been reduced compared with last month. The bottom line is that we expect the industry to get through the 2006 peak season without serious port congestion.”

It’s good news for retailers awaiting new goods and gearing up for the fall season.

“This is a relief compared with the labor shortages and port shutdowns we’ve seen in recent summers,” said Erik Autor, NRF vice president and international trade counsel. “Congestion isn’t in the forecast, but that doesn’t mean we stop watching. Port Tracker will continue to monitor port conditions and will be prepared to alert shippers to any change.”