September could be busiest month of year for import cargo
The peak season for import cargo at the nation’s major container ports is not over yet.
A final bump in September in this year’s extended peak season could push the month over the line to be the busiest month of the year for import volume at the ports, according to the Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“Some of the shift from earlier in the summer to now is because of vessel delays due to bad weather in China and some rerouting away from the Panama Canal amid potential drought conditions there,” Jonathan Gold, NRF VP for supply chain and customs policy. “But consumers keep buying despite tariffs, inflation and high fuel prices, and retailers keep bringing in merchandise to meet demand.”
Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett noted that imports have remained buoyant during the past three months despite several hurdles
“Retail sales remain strong and cargo is moving relatively smoothly, although there are reports of vessel delays and increased times required for cargo to move through the supply chain,” he said.
U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units — one 20-foot container or its equivalent — in July, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was down 3.9% from a year earlier but up 3.2% from June.
Ports have not yet reported August numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.29 million TEU, down 1.3% year over year. September is forecast at 2.31 million TEU, up 9.6% year over year and slightly ahead of July as the busiest month of the year.
As recently as last month, it appeared that May’s 2.24 million TEU would be the busiest month of 2026 as retailers brought in merchandise early ahead of potential increases in tariffs. But high import levels continued, stretching out the peak season to its traditional timing of late summer and early fall.
Cargo volume is expected to drop to 2.11 million TEU in October, but will still be up 1.7% year over year. November is forecast at 2 million TEU, down 0.9% year over year, and December at 2.03 million TEU, up 1.1% over last year. Those numbers would bring 2026 to a total of 25.7 million TEU, up 1% from last year’s 25.4 million TEU. The first half of 2026 totaled 12.7 million TEU, up 1.1% from the same period in 2025.
January 2027 is forecast at 2.09 million TEU, down 1% year over year.
Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.