NRF Forecasts 1.5% December Import Rise Ahead of Holiday Season’s ‘Final Days’
December imports at major retail container ports in the U.S. are expected to increase 1.5 percent compared with December a year ago, suggesting that retailers are restocking in preparation for the holiday selling season’s “final days,” the National Retail Federation…
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said in its monthly port tracker report. With the expected December rise in imports, NRF forecasts the year “should end with a healthy 6.4 percent increase over 2016,” it said. “Retailers are doing last-minute restocking as consumers head toward the finish line of the shopping season, but the majority of holiday merchandise is already in the country and ports are beginning to quiet down.” Ports covered in the tracker report are expected to handle 1.6 million 20-foot-long cargo containers or their equivalents in December, bringing 2017's total to a record 20 million containers, topping last year’s previous record of 18.8 million containers, the group said.