Despite Superstorm Sandy, port volume expected to rise this month

Cargo volume at the nation’s major ports is expected to increase nearly 6% in November, despite temporary closures of some seaports because of Superstorm Sandy.

A monthly Global Port Tracker report released Tuesday forecasts that cargo volume this month will rise to 1.37 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, up 5.9% from November 2011. (One TEU is the equivalent of a 20-foot cargo container.)

“Sandy certainly caused major problems that are still being cleaned up, but retailers managed to get their cargo into the country and will have plenty of merchandise on store shelves for the holidays,” Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy of the National Retail Federation, said in a statement.

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The Global Port Tracker, which is produced for the retailing trade group, includes the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and New York.

With the busiest shopping season of the year set to kick off, ports have been busy handling merchandise ordered by retailers to ramp up their inventory for the holiday.

The report also forecast cargo volume to rise to 1.34 million twenty-foot equivalent units in December, an increase of 9.4% from the year before.

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ricardo.lopez2@latimes.com

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