California Apparel News

Despite massive congestion problems plaguing the West Coast ports earlier this year, cargo-container volumes for imported goods are expected to rise 4.2 percent this year compared with last year.

For the first half of 2015, import numbers were up a little more at 6.5 percent, rising to 18 million 20-foot containers, according to the monthly “Global Port Tracker” report, released by the National Retail Federation in conjunction with Hackett Associates.

This month, with importers bringing in merchandise for the holiday season, the number of cargo containers coming into the nation’s major ports will inch up 3.6 percent over last August.

“Consumers might be out buying back-to-school supplies, but toys and sweaters are starting to show up on the docks,” said Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy. “There are still some lingering congestion issues, but retailers are working with their supply-chain partners to make sure all of that merchandise flows smoothly to store shelves.” An improving economy is translating into more imports coming through U.S. ports. In June, traffic at the ports was up 6.2 percent from the previous year, and July saw a 6 percent uptick in container volumes.

For the rest of the year, ports will experience some see-saw activity. September is forecast to be down 0.1 percent, October will be up 1.2 percent, November will see a 4.5 percent jump, and December will see a 2.8 percent decrease in import volumes.

The good news is that some retailers are paying less to transport their merchandise this year, thanks to the use of more large-capacity ships by ocean carriers. Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said the increased capacity has driven down rates, but the relief could be short lived because some lines have already canceled voyages to counteract the trend.

“We are seeing complete chaos on the high seas in terms of the amount of capacity available and the level of spot freight rates,” Hackett said. “One has to wonder why carriers cannot match supply to demand. The end result will likely be a highly volatile situation of freight rates moving up and down.”