Latest: NRF: “extended peak season” keeps rolling as 2026 winds down

This year’s extended peak season is continuing, with a final bump expected this month that could push September just over the line to be the busiest month of the year for import volume at the nation’s major container ports, according to the Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. “We thought the peak season would be mostly behind us by now, but that’s not the case,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Some of the shift from earlier in the summer to now is because of vessel delays due to bad weather in China and some rerouting away from the Panama Canal amid potential drought conditions there. But consumers keep buying despite tariffs, inflation, and high fuel prices, and retailers keep bringing in merchandise to meet demand.” U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) — one 20-foot container or its equivalent — in July, the lat