Retailers Continue to Front-Load Imports into U.S. Ports

Retailers are continuing to front-load their imports which is driving up the volumes seen at major U.S. ports. The National Retail Federation in its monthly read on container volumes expects the rush to get merchandise into the country will continue in part started by the fear of an East Coast port strike and now potential tariffs from the new Trump administration.

The Global Port Tracker showed an increase in volumes in the fall with November’s container imports up 14.7 percent over a year earlier. It was down slightly from October – 3 percent – but…