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US Retail Cargo Seen Cooling in Second Half as Inflation, Rates Bite

  • Retail Federation sees slow economic growth affecting imports
  • US to import 2% more cargo in 2022 from 2021, another record
Trucks transport cargo containers at the Port of Baltimore.

Trucks transport cargo containers at the Port of Baltimore.

Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

US ports will see less retail cargo entering the country in the second half of the year as economic growth slows amid back-to-back interest-rate increases and persistent inflation.

After record-setting volumes registered in the spring, retail shipments arriving at the nation’s largest ports from July to December will likely total 12.8 million 20-foot equivalent units, 1.5% less than a year earlier, the National Retail Federation said Monday.