As West Coast ports begin to get relief from the backlog of cargo caused by the long and arduous labor dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the National Retail Federation (NRF) expects an 8 percent rise in imports this month over the same time in 2014.
According to NRF’s Global Port Tracker, produced jointly with Hackett Associates, the ports that it covers handled 1.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in February, the latest month for which data is available, and historically the slowest month of the year. That figure is down 10.3 percent from January and down 3.6 percent, compared to February 2014. The Tracker reports data on container import volume, vessel services, congestion, gate operations and new transportation-related projects.
March volume is estimated to rise to 1.48 million TEU, which would be a 13.5 percent increase from 2014. The forecast for April is 1.55 million TEU, up 8 percent, year-over-year. Global Port Tracker forecasts the first half of 2015 at 8.6 million TEU, an increase of 3 percent, year-over-year.
The PMA and the ILWU tentatively agreed on a five-year contract in February. The ILWU is recommending that its members vote for ratification; the votes will not be counted until May 22. The last contract expired in July 2014.
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