b'deCembeR 21, 2020 - jANuARy 24, 2021MaritiMe Section 17Retail imports still strong after setting new records for the holiday seasonImports remain strong afterAsrecentlyasamonth settingnewrecordsthisfallasago, 2020 was expected to total retailersstockedupbothstores20.9 million TEU, a drop of 3.4 and warehouses for the holidaypercentfromlastyearandthe season and met new demands forlowestannualtotalsince20.5 quick delivery of online orders,millionTEUin2017because according to the monthly Globalof low imports earlier this year. Port TrackerreportreleasedbyButwiththerecentstringof Photo: Andrew JohnsontheNationalRetailFederationrecord months, 2020 is expected and Hackett Associates. to come in at 21.8 million TEU,CARING FOR YOUR CARGO Thepandemichasmadeup 0.8 percent over 2019. That thepastyearoneofthemostwouldtie2018asthebusiestFOR 55+YEARStrying the supply chain has everyear on record.seen, but retailers have met thatJanuary 2021 is forecast at challenge, NRF Vice President1.86million TEU,up2.4per-for Supply Chain and Customscent from January 2020; Febru- Albany, NY Eastport, ME Lake Charles, LA Port Manatee, FL Thorold, ONPolicyJonathanGoldsaid.ary at 1.55 million TEU, up 2.6Burns Harbor, IN Hamilton, ON Milwaukee, WI Tampa, FLWevegonefromnotknow- percentyear-over-year;March ing whether we would be able toat1.62millionTEU,up17.8 get merchandise from China topercentfromMarch2020 having a surplus of goods whenwhen factories in China failed to stores were closed to having toreopen after the Lunar New Year meetpent-updemandascon- holidayand April at 1.74 mil-sumersreturned. Atthispoint,lion TEU, up 8.3 percent year- fmtcargo.com | 704.714.4644retailers have seen a successfulover-year.holiday season so far and goods arereachingtheshelves.We hope 2020 is a one-time experi-ence, but weve learned a lot.Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said the retail inven-tory-to-sales ratio soared to 1.68 in April, when most stores were closed,thenplummetedmore than 25 percent to 1.22 in June and has remained at about that levelsincethen.Thatdrove record imports as retailers both replenished inventories and pre-pared for the holidays.Withinventorieslowbut demand growing, we have wit-nessedasurgeinimportsas retailers try to keep up, Hack- CONNECTING THE INDUSTRYett said. The dramatic shift to onlineshoppingcoupledwith theexpectationofnext-dayWith the pandemic preventingThe virtual venue is a fully deliveryisalsospurringthegatherings across the globe,immersive environment, with growth of imports at warehousesPort Tampa Bay are pleased formajoronlinesellers,whointeractive knowledge sharing, needtohaveenoughstockonto partner with Steel Marketlive Q&A, networking with live handnotjusttomeetdemandUpdate to bring you the 2021video calls and more, a rich but to meet it instantly. Tampa Steel Conference as a U.S.portscoveredbyvirtual event. exhibition, and strong branding Global Port Tracker handled 2.21opportunities.millionTwenty-FootEquiva-lent Units in October, the latestThe one-day event will provide month for which final numbers are available. That was up 17.6an opportunity to discuss the percentyear-over-yearandupnational and international issues 5.2percentfrom2.11millionimpacting the steel industry and TEU in September, the previous record for a single month sinceshipment of steel - and to NRF began tracking imports innetwork with your peers and do 2002.September,inturn,had edgedout2.1millionTEUinbusiness. All from the comfort of August,whichhadbrokentheyour home or office.previous record of 2.04 million TEUsetinOctober2018.A TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent.Octobersnumberbrought the total for the peak seasonthe period from July throughNETWORKING LEARN CONNECT INSIGHTSOctoberwhenretailersrushto bringinmerchandiseforthe winter holidays each yeartoFor more details, or to book your place, please 8.3million TEU. Thatwasan increase of 8.8 percent over thevisit www.tampasteelconference.comsame time last year and beat the previousrecordof7.7million TEU set in 2018.EvenwithmostholidayPresented by Hosted bymerchandise already in the coun-try, November imports remained strong at an estimated 2.07 mil-liona 22.4 percent jump year-over-year and the fourth-busiest monthonrecord.Decemberis forecast at 1.91 million TEU, up 11 percent from last year.'