By Ashley Kao       Photo：Tom Fisk，Link：Pexels

As the US passed the US$1.9 trillion economic rescue plan, it is expected that consumer spending in next few months is expected to increase, the volume of container imports will continue to grow, and the first half of the year is expected to achieve to a new record. China’s exports surged by more than 60% in the first two months of the year from last year’s coronavirus-induced lows, as demand in the U.S. and Europe for made-in-China goods continued to rebound.

The fund will increase in economy, extended unemployment benefits and support for caregiving, nutrition programs, health care and pensions. Retail sales surged 5.3 percent in January, far higher than analysts and economists expected, providing a needed jolt to an economy that showed signs of weakening at the end of last year.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 proved to be a record year for retail imports, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. The NRF expects imports to set new monthly records through June as the retail sector seeks to recover.

“As we continue to struggle with COVID-19 and the ups and downs in the economy, year-over-year increases in the flow of containerized goods have become dramatic,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “It is impressive that the cargo volumes handled by the ports remain as high as they are despite congestion at the docks and the spread of the coronavirus among workers throughout the supply chain.”

Hackett said port congestion continues with at least two dozen ships waiting to dock amid labor and equipment shortages at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Hackett reports U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracer handled 2.11 containers – 21-foot units – in December, the last month for which final numbers are available. December volume was up just 0.2% from November but it was 22.3% higher than in the previous year. The total imports for 2020 were up 1.9% from the prior year at 22 million containers.

Since the 2008/2009 recession retail container imports have grown 66.6% through 2020. Following are recent years of retail imports of 21-foot containers, according to Hackett Associates. The expected consumption recovery in the US shall keep on pushing up demand in ocean transportation and rate.

Read more : The less working hours in US sea ports & container yards makes more difficult to resume ocean container transportation back normal as before.