July 14, 2026
U.S. ports handled 2.34 million twenty-foot equivalent units in May
According to the latest data released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.24 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units one 20-foot container or its equivalent in May, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was up 14.9% from a year earlier, when imports were down sharply because of last year's "Liberation Day" tariffs, and up 10.1% from April.
Ports have not yet reported June numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.33 million TEU, up 18.7% year over year. That would bring the first half of 2026 to 12.77 million TEU, up 2% from the same period in 2025.
July is forecast at 2.47 million TEU, which would be up 3.3% from last year and would top the previous monthly record of 2.4 million TEU set in May 2022 as the economy bounced back from the pandemic. Imports are expected to drop to 2.22 million TEU in August, down 4.5% year over year. September is forecast at 1.99 million TEU, down 5.7% year over year; October also at 1.99 million TEU, down 3.8%, and November at 1.92 million TEU, down 5.2%.
The May through July numbers are expected to be the highest of the year. The peak shipping season, which historically centered around October, has moved up in recent years amid reasons ranging from port labor disputes to expected tariff increases.
Imports totaled 25.4 million TEU in 2025, down 0.3% from 25.5 million TEU in 2024.
Source: NRF