WASHINGTON–Import cargo volume at the nation’s retail container ports is set to make gains through the first half of 2010, according to the monthly Global Tracker Report from the National Retail Federation and consulting and research firm Hackett Associates.
This trend is an indicator of growing optimism for retail business this year, said Jonathan Gold, NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy. “Retailers are still going to be cautious with their inventories, but we wouldn’t see these increases in imports if stores weren’t expecting sales to improve,” Gold said in a joint NRF-Hackett Associates statement.
Part of the positive feeling comes from the December import cargo-volume total, which increased 1.7 percent over December 2008 to 1.08 million 20-foot equivalent units. It was the first monthly year-over-year increase in imports in 28 months, the statement said.