Import volume at major U.S. container ports is not being significantly affected by the conflict in Iran, but ocean carriers are seeing a related increase in fuel costs that could eventually affect retailers and their customers, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.In February, U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.95 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), one 20-foot container or its equivalent, down 7.5 percent from January and down 4.2 percent year over year. The report noted February is traditionally the slowest month of the year because of Lunar New Year factory shutdowns in Asia.Ports have not reported March numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 1.97 million TEU, down 8.3 percent year over year. April is forecast at 2.08 million TEU, down 5.6 percent year over year; May at 2.09 million TEU, up 7.3 percent; June at 2.1 million TEU, up 6.9 percent; July at 2.2 million TEU, down 8 percent; and August at 2.18 million TEU, down 6 percent.The report stated those numbers would bring the first half of 2026 to 12.3 million TEU, down 1.8 percent from 12.53 million TEU during the same period in 2025. The year-over-year increases in May and June are largely due to the sharp drop-off in imports during those months last year after “Liberation Day” tariffs were announced in April 2025. Imports totaled 25.4 million TEU in 2025, down 0.3 percent from 25.5 million TEU in 2024.