America’s ports posted their 18th straight month of inbound, containerized freight handling growth in August with a 5% increase vs. a year earlier. Unusually volumes were just 0.1% higher than July vs. a 3% average rise in the past five years. That may indicate the Trump administration’s widening tariffs on Chinese exports may be beginning to drag on shipments. The annual rate of growth was flattered by a 41% expansion in volumes inbound to Houston which was the result of disruptions from Hurricane Irma a year earlier. Among the other major ports the east coast behemoths did best with Ne...