Dive Summary:

• The National Retail Federation has announced they believe that import volume throughout all major U.S. ports could experience a slower growth rate during the summer season.
• The volume of imports is expected to grow roughly 1.1% in July 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, according to the National Retail Federation.
• “With the economy recovering slowly, retailers have been cautious with imports this summer but it’s clear that they expect an upturn later in the year,” states Jonathan Gold of the NRF.

From the article:

The volume of imports this year has been flat compared with last year, the report said. U.S. ports moved 1.38 million 20-foot containers in May, the latest month for which data is available. That's up 1.2% from the month before, but down 0.6% from May 2012.