Published on JOC.com (http://www.joc.com) Record monthly US imports forecast for August JOC › Maritime News › International Freight Shipping Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor | Aug 09, 2017 6:07PM EDT Analysts and industry watchers are upgrading their expectations for global trade growth in 2017. US containerized imports are forecast to reach the highest-ever monthly total in August as retailers react to strong consumer demand, providing carriers another tailwind to their improving fortunes. The Global Port Tracker, published monthly by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, predicts August import volume will rise 2.1 percent year over year to 1.75 million TEU. The current record for import volume was in March 2015, when inbound containers hit 1.73 million TEU. The forecasted record in August would cap a strong six-month period in which four out of six months will be the busiest months in the history of the report, providing its predictions for the coming months are correct, Global Port Tracker said. Global Port Tracker forecasts container volume to end the year up 4.9 percent, at 19.7 million TEU, from 2016. IHS Markit Senior Economist Mario Moreno has upgraded his forecast from 6.1 percent annual growth to 6.6 percent after strong volume in the first quarter. “Retailers are selling more and that means they need to import more,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “With sales showing year-over-year increases almost every month for a long time now, retail supply chains are working hard to keep up. These latest numbers are a good sign of what retailers expect in terms of consumer demand over the next few months.” The expected 2.1 percent increase in August over the same month in 2016, would follow an expected 5.6 percent increase in volume in July — to 1.72 million TEU — over…Read More »