Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to increase 8.3 percent this month over the same time last year as consumers begin their holiday shopping, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to increase 6.1 percent in April, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to drop 8.4 percent in February from the same time last year as the shipping cycle reaches its slowest month of the year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

U.S. vessel imports were up 3.7 percent from 2012, which totaled over 18.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot containers) brought into the United States last year. U.S. imports in 2013 started off at a slow start but ended with a surprising and unexpected surge from July through December. Annual TEUs haven't been this high since 2007, which is a good sign for a strong recession rebound in the U.S. trade industry. So far in 2014, the first three weeks of imports in January are already 5.2 percent higher than the same time last year.

Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to increase 1.1 percent in June over the same month last year, reflecting modest growth expectations as retailers head toward the back-to-school and holiday seasons, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.