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Import cargo volume at the nation’s major container ports is expected to hit its highest level in nearly a year this month as retailers stock up for the winter holidays, according to the Global Port Tracker report from NRF and Hackett Associates.

The National Retail Federation today announced the launch of a new NRF Center for Digital Risk & Innovation.

The National Retail Federation today issued the following statement from President and CEO Matthew Shay following the announcement that a tentative labor agreement has been reached between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Joint Statement from the Retail Litigation Center (RLC), the National Retail Federation, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, the Consumer Technology Association, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. 

Retail sales continued to rise in June even as employment grew more slowly, NRF said.

Consumers are expected to spend record amounts for both back-to-school and back-to-college shopping this year, according to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Back-to-school spending is expected to reach an unparalleled $41.5 billion, up from $36.9 billion last year and the previous high of $37.1 billion in 2021. Back-to-college spending is expected to hit $94 billion, about $20 billion more than last year’s record.

EuroCommerce and the National Retail Federation welcomed the announcement by the European Commission regarding the adoption of the adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major container ports is expected to climb toward an August peak this summer, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by NRF and Hackett Associates. But even though a tentative contract agreement has been reached at West Coast ports, retailers are closely following labor disputes at ports in Canada and a potential Teamsters strike against UPS.

The U.S. economy did better in the first half of 2023 than early indicators suggested and appears to be “rolling forward” even as the rate of growth slows for the remainder of the year, NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said.

The National Retail Federation released its annual list of the Top 100 Retailers, compiled by Kantar, a global marketing data, insight and consultancy company. The 2023 Top 100 Retailers ranks the industry’s largest companies according to domestic sales.