Retail Import Volume Sinks to 5-Year Low

U.S. ports surveyed handled 984,633 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units in March, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That was up 16.8 percent from February's 842,882 TEU, which was the lowest level since March 2002, but still down 15 percent from March 2008. The March 2009 number is the next-lowest since the 901,497 seen in February 2004, and marks the 21st month in a row to see a year-over-year decline. One TEU is one 20-foot container or its equivalent.