Insights - March 2016 - (Page 9)

2014-2016 YEARLY TRAFFIC TOTALS BY MONTH Source: IANA Equipment Type, Size and Ownership data file Eﬀective January 2016, IANA's data and statistics products provide a more comprehensive picture of North America's intermodal business through coverage that includes movements into, out of and within Mexico. For more information, visit www.intermodal.org or contact Art Cleaver at 301-982-3400, ext. 346. Freight Reports Post-Holiday Imports Down According to the Feb. 9 Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, the nation's top containerports handled 1.43 million twenty-foot equivalent units in December 2015, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. With most holiday merchandise already in the country by that point, volume was down 3.4 percent from November and 0.8 percent from the year before. That brought 2015 to a total of 18.2 million TEUs, up 5.3 percent from 2014. January was up an estimated 18.3 percent over 2015 at 1.46 million TEUs, but the percentage was skewed unusually high because of weak volume seen last year just before agreement on a contract with West Coast dockworkers ended months of congestion. Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to decline year-over-year for the next few months but the first half of the year should still amount to a 4.5 percent increase compared with the same period last year. "Retailers are carefully managing their inventories but still need to stock up on seasonal goods for spring and summer," said Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy at NRF. "Comparisons with [2015] are diﬃcult because of the surge of cargo after problems at West Coast ports ended, but we think consumers will continue to increase their spending this year and retailers will be ready." With the global economy still struggling, Ben Hackett, founder of Hackett Associates, said government action in key nations could play a significant role in how 2016 plays out. "Governments around the globe need to support economic policy that is pro-growth and avoid actions that get in the way of the business community," Hackett said. "This is not the time, for example, for the U.S. Federal Reserve or other central banks to increase interest rates. What all the economies of the world need is stimulus to encourage consumer spending and to increase business expansion." Global Port Tracker covers the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades and Miami on the East Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast. Monthly Total Volumes Drop Slightly in January Domestic and international containers posted gains in January, of 2.4 and 2.6 percent respectively, nearly offsetting the 23.8 percent drop in trailer movements. The net decline in total intermodal traﬃc for the month was 0.1 percent. Freight - continued on page 11 March 2016 | Intermodal Insights 9 http://www.intermodal.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - March 2016

Insights - March 2016
Aviation Bill Backs Federal HOS
FMC Launches Supply Chain Innovation Team
ITC Looks into Chinese Truck Tires
New Board Member
Nominations Sought for Silver Kingpin Award
Roundtables Announced for O&M Meeting
UMD Students to Conduct Membership Survey
Keeping Quality Chassis on the Road
Information Services News
Freight Reports
Sustainability News
Port News
2016 Sponsors
In Brief
People in the News
State Legislative Update
Welcome New Members
Early Intermodalist Carmichael Dies
Intermodal Calendar

Insights - March 2016