Long-term ''Lull'' for TEUs.(Report of Global Insight and the National Retail Federation )(Report)

Container shipping''s winter lull is sliding into a spring calm, with weak increases in inbound traffic, at best, expected at major U.S. ports in coming months.

Containerized imports are dropping at a time when traffic traditionally increases, Global Insight and the National Retail Federation said in their latest Port Tracker report.

Spring may bring a slight increase in TEU volume at some ports, but inbound container traffic is forecast to decline again through the summer, the report said.

The key issue for the container trade is whether the U.S. economy turns around come summer or enters a full-blown recession that extends into the fall or 2009. …