National Retail Federation

Commerce reported that July retail sales—at $617.7 billion—were off 1.1% compared to June’s revised $624.7 billion and topped July 2020 by 15.8%.

For June, the most recent month for which data is available, import volumes came in at 2.15 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), down 7.8% compared to May’s record-high of 2.33 million TEU and up 33.7% compared to June 2020, a period when many stores remained shut down because of the pandemic.

Commerce reported that June retail sales—at $621.3 billion—were down 0.6% compared to May’s revised $617.9 billion (from an original reading of $620.2 billion) and up 18% compared to June 2020. And total retail sales from April through May headed up 31.5% compared to the same period a year ago.

For May, the most recent month for which data is available, import volumes came in at 2.33 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), an 8.6% increase over April and a 52.2% annual increase.

The National Retail Federation is anticipating that retail sales will now grow between 10.5% and 13.5% to more than $4.44 trillion this year as the economy accelerates its pace of recovery.

Commerce reported that May retail sales—at $620.2 billion—were off 1.3% compared to April and up 28.1% compared to May 2020, whereas April retail sales saw a 0.9% sequential gain and a 53.4% annual increase. And from March through May, total retail sales rose 36.2% compared to the same period a year ago.

As more people continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, coupled with more pockets of the United States economy reopening, it did not come as a huge surprise that United States retail sales, for the month of April, which were issued late last week by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Retail Federation (NRF), turned in another solid performance.

In this podcast, Jeff Berman, Group News Editor for Logistics Management and the Peerless Media Supply Chain Group, interviews Jonathan Gold, Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, for the National Retail Federation (NRF).

In this podcast, Jeff Berman, Group News Editor for Logistics Management and the Peerless Media Supply Chain Group, interviews Jonathan Gold, Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, for the National Retail Federation (NRF).

In this podcast, Jeff Berman, Group News Editor for Logistics Management and the Peerless Media Supply Chain Group, interviews Jonathan Gold, Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, for the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Commerce reported that March retail sales—at $619.1 billion—were up 9.8% compared to February, while rising 27.7% annually, and the National Retail Federation reported that its calculation of March retail sales, which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants, pointed to a 7.4% seasonally-adjusted increase, from February, and a 17.7% unadjusted annual gain.

Commerce reported that March retail sales—at $619.1 billion—were up 9.8% compared to February, while rising 27.7% annually, and the National Retail Federation reported that its calculation of March retail sales, which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants, pointed to a 7.4% seasonally-adjusted increase, from February, and a 17.7% unadjusted annual gain.

The report is calling for volumes to remain at or above the 2 million TEU range for 11 of 13 months through August 2021, whereas that level had previously only hit the 2 million TEU mark only one month, in October 2018.

Commerce reported that February retail sales—at $561.7 billion—fell 3.0%, from January to February, with a 6.0% annual increase. NRF's data pointed to pointed to a 3.4% seasonally-adjusted decrease, from January, and a 7.1% unadjusted annual gain.

The report explained that optimism for the expected high levels of imports is a result of increased vaccination and continued in-store safety measures enabling additional shopping options.