U.S. Retail Imports Remained High Ahead of Tariffs but Maybe Slowing

While saying that it believes U.S. retailers continued to frontload imports of key products for several months ahead of a potential dockworkers strike and tariff increases, the National Retail Federation data now points to a slowing of month-to-month container volumes at the top U.S. ports. The trade association lowered its near-term forecast in the Global Port Tracker for U.S. container import volumes while saying it believes retailers continue to engage in diversification efforts to adjust supply chains.

“Unfortunately, it takes significant time to move supply chains, even if you can find available capacity,” said Jonathan Gold, Vi…