Shipments Down

Global Port Tracker reported US ports handled 1.25 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in June 2011, down 2.6% from May and 5% from June 2010. One TEU is one 20-foot cargo container or its equivalent. June’s volume broke an 18-month streak of year-over-year improvement dating to December 2009. Estimates for July are expected to drop 1.3 million TEU, down 5.7% from July 2010, and August is forecast at 1.4 million TEU, a 1.6% decrease from a year ago. Year-over-year increases are expected to resume in September, which is forecast at 1.48 million TEU, up 10.4% from last year. October is forecast at 1.46 million TEU, up 8% from year ago; November at 1.31 million TEU, up 6.2%, and December at 1.18 million TEU, up 3%.