The analysis of the US retail supply chain experts pointed out that after setting a new record in the fall of this fall, the US's ocean container imports continued to maintain strong growth thanks to retailers' replenishment of inventories and large orders from e-commerce platforms.
Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Federation of Retailers (NRF), said that the new crown pneumonia epidemic has made 2020 one of the most difficult years in the history of the supply chain industry, but fortunately, the supply chain has experienced Lived the test of life and death. Jonathan said: "So far, holiday products are abundant, and the experience of the epidemic in 2020 has taught us many experiences and lessons."
Ben Hackett, the founder of the consulting firm Associates, emphasized that imports have experienced a roller coaster-like market. The retail inventory-to-sales ratio soared to 1.68 in April and dropped to 1.22 in June, and has maintained this level ever since.
According to the "Global Port Tracking Monthly Report", the US ocean container imports in October were 2.21 million TEU. This figure is an increase of 17.6% compared to the same period last year and an increase of 5.2% from the 2.1 million TEU in September. This is the highest monthly record since the Federation of American Retailers started tracking container imports in 2002.
U.S. sea container imports will increase by 2.4% year-on-year in January next year
The Federation of American Retailers predicts that in January 2021, the import volume of seaborne containers in the United States was 1.86 million TEU, an increase of 2.4% year-on-year; in February it was 1.55 million TEU, an increase of 2.6% year-on-year; in March it was 1.62 million TEU, an increase of 17.8 year-on-year %, it was 1.74 million TEU in April, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%.
As U.S. consumption continues to recover and retail sales have rebounded strongly, the federation predicts that November and December holiday sales will increase by 3.6%-5.2%, exceeding the total in 2019, with sales between 755.3 billion and 766.7 billion US dollars.
