Input Stories

U.S. retailers are rushing overseas orders in response to shipping disruptions, rising freight costs and geopolitical worries (The Wall Street Journal, subscription).

What’s going on: “Import containers have been landing at American seaports in far bigger numbers than usual since the late spring, marking an early start to the annual peak shipping season leading into the fall.”

• Though it comes with a high price tag, the move is a hedge against lost sales, according to one source at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Why it’s important: “Supply-chain executives see warning signs flashing around the globe, from drought-triggered limitations at the Panama Canal to the threat of a strike by dockworkers at U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports this fall.”

• Another factor: ongoing Houthi terrorist attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, which have had a large impact on global shipping.

The numbers: “Combined container imports into the ports of Seattle and Tacoma rose 43% year over year in June after jumping 33% in May. The inbound volume in the two months was almost equal to the box imports the ports saw in September and October last year, at the height of the peak shipping season.”

• At the nearby ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach—the country’s “busiest gateway for container trade”—848,451 containers were imported in June, a 15% increase from May and the strongest volume in almost two years.
• Meanwhile, imports at the ports of New York and New Jersey in May hit their highest levels since September 2022.

What it means: “The rise in imports is funneling clothes, furniture and electronics into warehouses ahead of the peak shopping season, which kicks off this summer with back-to-school and culminates in the end-of-year Christmas rush.”

• Many importers are speeding up to get ahead of new tariffs, set to take effect on Aug. 1, on certain goods made in China.