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“This has clearly been a difficult year and we still have a challenging holiday season ahead of us,” National Retail Federation VP for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Retailers are being careful to import only as much merchandise as they think they can sell.” But you probably know that. Cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to decline 6.5 percent in 2008 compared with 2007 as merchants carefully manage inventories, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released this week by the NRF and Global Insight. Illuminating the trend, fewer motorcycles have been coming into the United States from Japan this year. Japan’s four major powersports vehicle manufacturers – Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha – exported 219,787 units to the United States during the first eight months of the year, down 26.8 percent from 300,307 units shipped during the same eight-month period in 2007. At Suzuki’s dealer meeting last month, Mel Harris, VP, American Suzuki Motor Corp., said the Suzuki factory in Japan, responding to the industrywide sales decline, “became conservative” in the past year, cutting shipments to protect against massive dealer inventories. Suzuki’s actions mirror those by a number of other major OEMs. The Port Tracker report projects cargo volume of 15.43 million Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units (TEU) for the year, compared with 16.5 million TEU last year. The estimate is down from 15.5 million projected in September, which would have been a 6 percent decline from 2007. The total would be the lowest since 2005, when 15.4 million TEU moved through the ports. One TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent. Meanwhile, Port Tracker’s congestion rating for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continues at medium because of new regulations that required trucking companies seeking to do business there to get a special concession license beginning October 1. “Uncertainties remaining for implementation of the Clean Trucks Program at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are causing concerns,” Global Insight economist Paul Bingham said. “Weak import demand has relieved pressure on port capacity but doubts remain about whether enough trucks will be available.” The remainder of the U.S. ports Port Tracker covers – Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast – are rated “low” for congestion, the same as last month. Port Tracker, which is produced by the economic research, forecasting and analysis firm Global Insight for NRF, looks at inbound container volume, the availability of trucks and railroad cars to move cargo out of the ports, labor conditions and other factors that affect cargo movement and congestion.  Sponsored Links Thousands of riders will read about the impressive 100% test results for Performance, Quality and Effectiveness from the MOTORCYCLE RIDERS CLUB OF AMERICA. Call or write for pricing and samples. Make Leather Therapy products an accessory must for your dealership. Click Here for a FREE sample and a Dealer Application |
