US ports to handle higher volumes of container traffic in 2007
US ports surveyed by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight to compile their monthly Port Tracker Report indicate that 2007 will produce higher monthly container volumes than in the previous year, surpassing the amount handled in the peak month of October 2006.
This prediction came after the report found that monthly container traffic in the US is starting to pick up again after the seasonal slow period of the Chinese New Year.
Ports under study, including Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah, handled 1.26 million TEU in January, representing a drop of 0.35 per cent compared to December's output, but 3.4 per cent higher than in January last year, a report by Logistics Management magazine said.
The authors of the Port Tracker Report predict that as container volumes continue to inch up in coming months, by July the monthly throughput growth would have grown sufficiently to surpass last year's peak monthly volume, and continue to rise to a new monthly peak this October that will be higher than last year's annual peak.
