WASHINGTON — August 8, 2022 — After a record-setting spring, imports at the nation’s major container ports are expected to slow significantly for the remainder of the year but 2022 should still see a net gain over 2021, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“Retail sales are still growing, but the economy is slowing down and that is reflected in cargo imports,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Lower volumes may help ease congestion at some ports, but others are still seeing backups and global supply chain challenges are far from over. Our biggest concern is the potential for disruption because of separate labor negotiations at the West Coast ports and the freight railroads. Concluding both sets of negotiations without disruption is critical as the important holiday season approaches.”

The contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association expired July 1, and many retailers brought in cargo early and shifted to East and Gulf Coast ports to avoid any potential disruptions related to contract negotiations, with early shipments helping drive second-quarter volumes. The freight railroads and their union are now working with a Presidential Emergency Board to resolve their contract discussions, which have been ongoing for two years. In addition, the Port of Oakland was briefly shut down in late July amid protests by independent truckers over a new state law aimed at eliminating independent owner-operators.

“The heady days of growth in imports are quickly receding,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “The outlook is for a decline in volumes compared with 2021 over the next few months, and the decline is expected to deepen in 2023.”

U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.25 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units — one 20-foot container or its equivalent — in June, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was down 5.9 percent from May’s 2.4 million TEU — the largest number of containers imported in a single month since NRF began tracking imports in 2002 — but up 4.9 percent year over year.

June’s results brought the first half of the year to 13.5 million TEU, a 5.5 percent increase year over year.

Ports have not yet reported July’s numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.26 million TEU, up 3.2 percent year over year. August is forecast at 2.2 million TEU, down 3 percent; September at 2.15 million TEU, up 0.4 percent; October at 2.13 million TEU, down 3.9 percent; November at 2.06 million TEU, down 2.7 percent, and December at 2.03 million TEU, down 3 percent.

Those numbers would bring the second half of the year to 12.8 million TEU, down 1.5 percent from the same period last year. But 2022 overall is expected to total 26.3 million TEU, up 2 percent from last year’s annual record of 25.8 million TEU.

The cargo data comes as NRF continues to forecast that 2022 retail sales will grow between 6 percent and 8 percent over 2021. Sales were up 7 percent during the first half of the year.

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts 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. The report is free to NRF retail members, and subscription information is available at NRF.com/PortTracker

Posted: August 8, 2022

Source: The National Retail Federation (NRF)

WASHINGTON — August 5, 2022 — A U.S. congressional delegation visited textile and apparel facilities in an industrial park in Choloma, Honduras today. They witnessed first-hand the significant investments, expansions, and job creation in the country’s textile and apparel sector and the USA fibers and yarns utilized in the production process.

The delegation, led by Congressman Lou Correa (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, Management and Accountability toured several companies with facilities in Honduras, including Parkdale Mills, Elcatex, and SanMar, all of which are expanding their footprint in the region.

Reps. John Katko (R-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) also joined the delegation, which included U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Honduras Laura Dogu, U.S. military officials, U.S. embassy officials and U.S. and Honduran industry executives.

These new investments in the industrial park were recently highlighted by Vice President Kamala Harris who is calling on private industry to promote economic opportunity in the region to address the root causes of migration.

In addition, this delegation is meeting with other top-level U.S. and Honduran textile and apparel executives to discuss this critically important co-production chain.

The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has spawned a textile and apparel coproduction chain, resulting in $12.6 billion in two-way trade and hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in the region. Nearly $1 billion of historic textile and apparel investment is anticipated this year alone.

Rep. Correa said: “Today’s visit to Honduras’s textile and apparel plants highlights the region’s substantial progress and growth in job creation. Seeing first-hand the significant investments, expansions and job creation that have taken place in the Honduras textiles and apparel sector demonstrates the region’s commitment to supporting the region’s long-term development, which includes measures to foster economic opportunities. I alongside with my colleagues will continue to collaborate with Central American countries to ensure that we are expanding job creation and working with our allies to continue to promote stability and progress in the Northern Triangle.”

“I am extremely grateful to our hosts for allowing us to visit these facilities firsthand and better understand economic development in the region. Importantly, these investments will improve supply chain security by advancing nearshoring and onshoring of textiles and apparel that I hope to see replicated in other industries critical to the U.S. economy,” said Rep. Katko. “I look forward to sharing what I have learned with my colleagues in Washington so we can continue to build on this progress.”

NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas said: “We deeply appreciate this visit to the Honduran textile and apparel industry by this congressional leadership team, our Ambassador, and government officials. The critical importance of the U.S.-CAFTA-DR to the region and the significant investments that is being made by this sector cannot be overstated. This agreement and the textile rules included has driven massive investment and support over 530,000 jobs in the region and 500,000 in Central America.  This is a pivotal moment for the coproduction chain between the U.S. and regional textile and apparel industries, in light of onshoring and nearshoring trends. We look forward to working with Congress, the administration, and our regional partners on fostering event stronger ties and growth in the hemisphere.”

Posted: August 5, 2022

Source: The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)