As stores bring in the last of the merchandise for the holiday season, a National Retail Federation (NRF) report said that imports at major US retail container ports are projected to increase 3.2 per cent in December, compared to the same month last year.

The Global Port Tracker report by NRF said that major ports handled 1.67 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in October, which is also up 7.4 per cent, compared to October 2015.

For November, the report has estimated that ports will handle 1.53 million TEU, rising by 3.6 per cent over November of the previous year, and 1.48 million TEU in December, up 3.2 per cent over a year ago month.

“Cargo volume does not correlate directly to sales because only the number of containers is counted, not the value of the cargo inside, but serves as a barometer of retailers’ expectations,” NRF said. 

The NRF is forecasting $655.8 billion in holiday sales, a 3.6 per cent rise over last year.