The National Retail Federation said its latest forecast of container cargo traffic signals that U.S. retailers are expecting solid growth in holiday sales.
Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 9.9 percent in October as merchants wrap up the annual shipping cycle for holiday merchandise, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the NRF and produced by Hackett Associates.
“NRF’s annual forecast says retailers should see solid growth during the holiday season this year and these cargo numbers back it up,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Increased imports show that retailers have gauged the market and expect increased sales.”
September was estimated at 1.49 million TEU, up 8 percent from last year, and October is forecast at 1.45 million TEU, up 9.9 percent. August, September and October are the three busiest months of the year as retailers bring merchandise into the country for the holiday season, and volume for the three months combined is up 7 percent. While cargo volume doesn’t correlate directly with sales, NRF forecast last week that holiday sales will increase 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion this year.
