US retailers fore early ?and brief ?peak shipping season
Source
American Shipper
Post Date
06/11/2026
US retailers on Monday upgraded their fore for June imports, confirming that the peak shipping season has come early this year as importers frontload fall and holiday merchandise ahead of new tariffs and what could be even higher fuel prices. But that cargo spike is expected to be short-lived, with the National Retail Federation (NRF) lowering its prior fore for imports landing through the rest of the summer and into early fall. ?he current import surge will likely last into July, with an early peak season that resembles the more recent pattern of raised volume rather than a sharp peak,?Ben Hackett, founder of Hackett Associates, said Monday in the Global Port Tracker (GPT). ?fter this, we expect a weakening in import volume as consumer uncertainty remains high and the impact of increasing inflation takes its toll.?
Imports in June are now fore to total 2.25 million TEUs, up from 2.13 million TEUs in the May GPT and 14.3% higher year over year. The year-over-year gain is skewed somewhat by the fact that imports plummeted last May and June after the Trump administration implemented widespread tariffs on US trading partners.
