The report – covering the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami (pictured) and Houston – forecast 1.54m teu throughput for August. This would pip July’s 1.53m teu.
The sharp rise is partly attributed to early stocking for holiday season sales; shippers have been rattled by ongoing wage negotiation talks on the west coast and want to ensure stock is not locked out of ports if there is industrial action. Hackett Associates’ founder Ben Hackett also highlighted a rebound in the US economy as a reason for the US container growth.
"US GDP has increased in 11 out of the last 12 quarters, confirming that we are in a sustained period of expansion," he said. North America is on track to end the year at 17.4m teu, which will mark a 5.2% increase over 2013.