NRF Forecasts 23% Rise in Retail Imports for 2021's First Half

Retail imports at the top U.S. container ports are expected to rise “dramatically” in 2021's first half, “as increased vaccination and continued in-store safety measures enable additional shopping options,” reported the National Retail Federation Monday. “The supply chain slowdown we usually see after the holiday season never really happened this winter,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president-supply chain and customs policy. NRF estimates U.S. ports handled 2.06 million 20-foot-long containers or their equivalents in January, down 2.3% from December as the holiday season ended but up 13% from January 2020. NRF is forecasting ports will handle 11.7 million containers in the first half, a 23.3% increase over the same 2020 period.