NRF: “extended peak season” keeps rolling in 2027

This year’s extended peak season is continuing, with a final bump expected this month that could push September just over the line to be the busiest month of the year for import volume at the nation’s major container ports, according to the Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. “We thought the peak season would be mostly behind us by now, but that’s not the case,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Some of the shift from earlier in the summer to now is because of vessel delays due to bad weather in China and some rerouting away from the Panama Canal amid potential drought conditions there. But consumers keep buying despite tariffs, inflation, and high fuel prices, and retailers keep bringing in merchandise to meet demand.” U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) — one 20-foot container or its equivalent — in July, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was down 3.9% from a year earlier but up 3.2% from June. Ports have not yet reported August numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.29 million TEU, down 1.3% year over year. September is forecast at 2.31 million TEU, up 9.6% year over year and slightly ahead of July as the busiest month of the year. As recently as last month, it appeared that May’s 2.24 million TEU would be the busiest month of 2026 as retailers brought in merchandise early ahead of potential increases in tariffs. But high import levels continued, stretching out the peak season to its traditional timing of late summer and early fall. The Global Port Tracker report, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.