Sailing delays in the passage of containerships through the Suez and Panama canals may be disrupting the typical flow of global freight patterns, but they are not damping the total volume of goods, according to a report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
In fact, inbound cargo volume at the U.S.’s major container ports is expected to see year-over-year increases through the first half of the year despite attacks on ships in the Red Sea, according to the groups’ “Global Port Tracker” report.
“Only about 12% of U.S.-bound cargo comes through the Suez Canal but the situation in the Red Sea is bringing volatility and uncertainty that are being felt around the globe,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in a release. “U.S. retailers are working to mitigate the impact of delays and increased costs. However, the longer the disruptions occur, the bigger impact this could have. More needs to be done among partners and allies to ensure the safety of vessels and crews in order to avoid yet another year of supply chain disruption.”
Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said carriers are using a surplus of capacity built up during the pandemic to ease the impact as voyages are diverted around the Cape of Good Hope or to the U.S. West Coast, and that improvements are already being seen. “The shipping industry has rapidly adjusted by adding extra vessels to its networks, and has returned to normal weekly ship arrivals,” Hackett said. “Service from Asia to the U.S. East Coast is working well and the dramatic rise in freight rates is showing signs of easing, with pressure from shippers likely to quickly bring these down.”
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.87 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in December, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was down 1% from November but up 8.3% year over year. December’s results brought 2023 to 22.3 million TEU, down 12.8% from 2022.
The report tracks data for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
