NAFTA Issues Adressed at Transplace Shipper Symposium
Provider of transportation management services & logistics technology, Transplace, says it has wrapped up its recent 12th annual 'Shipper Symposium' in Dallas. Former President of Mexico Vicente Fox and other leading supply chain and economic visionaries addressed current supply chain and economic issues, including NAFTA in its 20th year, capacity constraints and regulatory changes that have a worldwide effect on the transportation of goods. Supply Chain Economics: Effects on the World – Economist Paul Bingham addressed shifting overseas sourcing trends and changes in the global economic and trade landscape. During his presentation, Bingham examined a variety of factors that are affecting the market…
Retail Container Traffic Up in March
Cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports will be up in March over February as traffic begins its annual climb toward peak season, but volume for the first half of 2009 is still expected to remain well below last year’s levels, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released March 6 by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight. “February is traditionally the slowest month of the year, so we’re now at the point where we’ll see a gradual increase in volume as retailers bring in spring and summer merchandise and build up toward the holiday season,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.
Retail Container Traffic to Fall 11.8%
After ending 2008 down 7.9 percent, cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to drop at an even faster pace during the first half of 2009 as the economic recession continues, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight. Final data for 2008 showed volume for the year at 15.2 million Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units, compared with 16.5 million TEU in 2007, a decline of 7.9 percent and the lowest total since 2004, when 14 million TEU moved through the ports. One TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent. Volume for the first six months of 2009 is forecast at 6.6 million TEU, down 11.8 percent from the 7.5 million TEU seen during the same period in 2008.
Retail Container Traffic Lowest Since 2004
Cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports fell again in October, and 2008 is now expected to be the slowest year since 2004 as the downturn in the nation’s economy continues, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released on Nov. 7 by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight. Volume is projected to total 15.3 million Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units for the year, compared with 16.5 million TEU in 2007. That would be a decline of 7.1 percent and the lowest total since 2004, when 14 million TEU moved through the ports. The estimate is down from the 15.43 million projected a month ago, which would have been a 6.5 percent decline from 2007 and the lowest number since 2005’s 15.4 million TEU. One TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent.
