Retailers predict import volumes at the nation's major container ports will finish the year on a high note despite weak demand during this year's traditional peak shipping season.

Stakeholders at U.S. ports are spending $9bn a year to accommodate the next generation of super-sized container ships. But simply expanding physical infrastructure will not be enough to mitigate port congestion. With fewer vessels moving more containers per call, U.S. ports need to fundamentally change the way containers are moved in and out of terminals.

The U.S. is expected to change from a net importer of natural gas to a net exporter, with those exports destined for different regions of the world, especially Asia. It's a development that could see the nation building 100 new ships, a prospect that the Government Accountability Office says could take 30 years.

Even though world merchandise trade growth is expected to rise just one percent through the end of this year, U.S. businesses are optimistic about trade over the next six months, buoyed by the prospect of changes to government trade regulations, and momentum in the current U.S. domestic economy, according to the latest findings from the U.S. HSBC Global Connections Trade Forecast.

CMA CGM has made an all-cash offer to acquire Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL).