As peak season gets closer, there’s been some data showing China-U.S. container traffic is dipping.

First, let’s look at the positive…when looking at the Port of Los Angeles Port Optimizer, it shows that 128,720 TEUs are expected to arrive between July 13^th-19th, as Freightwaves reports. This would be an 8.68% increase from the previous week and 13.23% higher than the same week last year.

However, projections are less optimistic for the last two weeks of July. As Freightwaves reports, imports for July 20^th-26^th are expected to decline to 120,072 TEUs – a 6.72% drop from the previous week. The following week, volumes are projected to fall even further to 78,025 TEUs, marking a sharp 35.02% week-over-week decrease. Again, these are just projections. Time will tell what the data will end up looking like.

Retail sales in June –

Retail sales softened in June as consumer concerns over the effects of government policies on the economy persisted. Total retail sales (minus automobiles and gas) were down 0.33% seasonally adjusted month-over-month but were up 3.19% unadjusted year-over-year in June, according to the National Retail Federation/CNBC’s Retail Monitor.