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11 August 2026 – Major US container port import volumes are expected to remain high this month after the peak shipping season arrived earlier than usual and volumes began declining for the remainder of the year.
This is according to the latest Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates on Friday.
“We had an early peak season this year as retailers brought in merchandise ahead of tariff changes in late July and responded to other uncertainties in the supply chain like the ongoing disruption brought by the conflict in Iran,” said NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy, Jonathan Gold.
“One round of tariffs has been replaced with another, but retailers will be well stocked for the coming holiday season. Retailers know how to adapt to shifting situations and are well prepared to meet consumers’ demand for affordability and choice.”
Following the expiration of the temporary 10% Section 122 global tariffs on July 23, the US immediately enacted a new round of Section 301 tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% over forced labour concerns. These tariffs cover 60 economies and affect a significant share of US imports, including imports from South Africa.
In anticipation of the tariff changes, US importers and retailers front-loaded shipments earlier in the year to build up holiday inventories before the late-July deadline.
“Consumers might have been expected to become more cautious as cost-of-living pressures persist. Even so, consumer spending has remained resilient despite persistent geopolitical uncertainty,” said Hackett Associates founder, Ben Hackett.
US ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.23 million TEUs in June, the latest month for which final data is available. This represented a 13.2% increase compared with the same month last year, when imports were down sharply following the introduction of the Trump administration’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.
Import volumes totalled 12.7 million TEUs during the first half of this year, up 1.1% from the same period in 2025.
Ports have not yet reported July numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.21 million TEUs, down 7.6% year on year. August is forecast at 2.22 million TEUs, down 4.2%.
Imports are expected to decline steadily for most of the remainder of the year, although volumes are forecast to exceed 2025 levels in most months. September is forecast at 2.16 million TEUs, up 2.8% year on year; October at 2.13 million TEUs, up 2.7%; November at 2.03 million TEUs, up 0.3%; and December at 2.06 million TEUs, up 2.5%.
This year’s busiest month for US ports appears to have been May, when they handled 2.24 million TEUs. The peak shipping season, which historically occurred in late summer or autumn, has shifted earlier and become smoother in recent years amid supply chain disruptions and anticipated tariff increases.
Ports are forecast to handle 25.5 million TEUs in 2026, up 0.1% from last year, when imports totalled 25.4 million TEUs, down 0.3% from 25.5 million TEUs in 2024.
Global Port Tracker provides historical data and forecasts for the US ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast. Source: FreightNews