What Hackett Associates does

Hackett Associates, LLC is a privately-held international trade consulting firm based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a 1-10 person team founded by Ben Hackett, who brings over 35 years of experience in liner shipping, ports, international economics, and transportation planning. The firm operates two interconnected offerings: (1) the Global Port Tracker: North America, a monthly subscription research report that delivers six-month rolling forecasts and four-quarter projections of containerized import volumes at 16 major North American container ports via a proprietary framework of seven econometric models, augmented by AIS-based vessel dwell time analysis; and (2) bespoke international trade consulting and advisory services covering maritime strategy, trade logistics, transportation planning, and trade policy analysis.

The Global Port Tracker is co-published with the National Retail Federation, which serves as the report's official sponsor and gives the product privileged distribution into the U.S. retail import community; report content also features recurring guest contributions from recognized industry experts such as Dan Smith of The Tioga Group and the firm's own director, Paul Bingham. Beyond the report, Hackett Associates sells consulting research and advisory engagements directly to carriers, terminal operators, port authorities, shippers, retailers, government agencies, and international institutions including the European Commission. The firm runs a low-footprint, content-led go-to-market: direct subscription sales and direct consulting engagement are supplemented by an editorial blog dating back to 2017 that functions as the firm's primary thought-leadership and top-of-funnel channel, alongside a LinkedIn presence and sample-report email outreach.

Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the report is offered either as single-issue purchases or 12-month subscriptions at quote-based pricing, and consulting engagements are scoped per project. The firm collects no online financial transactions, stores data via the Wix.com platform, and operates GDPR-compliant privacy practices to support its European institutional consulting work.

Name

Hackett Associates

Legal name

Hackett Associates, LLC

Website

https://hackettassociatesllc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hackett Associates, LLC is a privately-held Alexandria, Virginia-based consulting firm that provides international trade advisory services and a monthly subscription research report, the Global Port Tracker: North America, delivering econometric forecasts of containerized import volumes at 16 major North American ports to carriers, terminal operators, port authorities, shippers, retailers, governments, and international institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Trade Consulting and Port Forecasting

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Trade Compliance & Ocean Regulatory Services (Sanctions/Export Controls) (TLACABAL)

Keywords

• Maritime trade consulting
• Container port forecasting
• International trade advisory
• Shipping market research
• Import volume forecasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Global Port Tracker Report Subscriptions: The Global Port Tracker: North America report is sold as either single-issue purchases or 12-month subscriptions. The report includes current and forecast TEU import data, editorial content, economic outlook, guest contributor articles, and port-specific news. Subscribers receive regular monthly updates with six-month rolling forecasts.
2. International Trade Consulting Services: Hackett Associates provides expert consulting research and advisory services to the international maritime industry, government agencies, and international institutions. The company draws on a team with considerable expertise and a well-established track record to offer management solutions and research capabilities across maritime strategy and trade logistics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hackett Associates sells the Global Port Tracker: North America, a monthly subscription report delivering six-month rolling and four-quarter forecasts of containerized import volumes at 16 major North American container ports via a proprietary seven-econometric-model framework. Alongside the report, the firm provides bespoke International Trade Consulting and advisory services to maritime carriers, terminal operators, port authorities, shippers, retailers, government agencies, and international institutions. Distribution is direct (subscriptions plus consulting engagements), with NRF sponsorship lending the flagship report retail-sector reach.

Product overview

Hackett Associates offers a portfolio of two interconnected core offerings: (1) Global Port Tracker: North America, a monthly subscription report delivering data-driven import forecasts at major North American container ports, and (2) International Trade Consulting Services, which provides strategic advisory and research capabilities to maritime industry stakeholders, governments, and international institutions. The consulting practice draws on the expertise of founder Ben Hackett and team members to deliver trade and logistics analysis that complements the analytical foundation of the Global Port Tracker product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Global Port Tracker: North America Monthly subscription report providing six-month rolling and four-quarter forecasts of containerized import (TEU) volumes at 16 major North American container ports, using seven econometric models across key trade routes. Includes historical and forecast TEU data in tables and charts, an economic outlook, editorial content, guest contributor articles, and port-specific news. Offered as single-issue purchases or 12-month subscriptions, with sample issues available on request via email.
• International Trade Consulting Services Bespoke advisory and research services covering maritime strategy, trade logistics, liner shipping, port operations, international economics, and transportation planning. Engagements serve carriers, terminal operators, port authorities, shippers, government agencies, and international institutions such as the European Commission, delivered independently or in collaboration with other consultants.

Quantifiable outcome

• First-half 2026 throughput at 12.77 million TEUs across monitored US ports
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Retail Federation (NRF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHackett Associates developed the Global Port Tracker: North America report in partnership with the National Retail Federation, which serves as the official sponsor. The NRF is a major retail industry trade association, and the co-branded report leverages the NRF's retail membership base and industry standing to reach a broad audience of retailers and supply chain professionals who are end-users of port import data. This is the company's flagship product and the primary vehicle for its market presence.
• The Tioga GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDan Smith, a Principal with The Tioga Group, is a regular guest contributor to the Hackett Associates blog and Global Port Tracker publications. Smith has authored multiple articles on topics including the large vessel conundrum, vessel dwell times, and port competitiveness. His contributions provide additional analytical depth and cross-industry credibility to Hackett Associates' content offerings.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Xeneta: Ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and analytics platform with container trade visibility — overlapping ocean freight analytics from a tech-forward, SaaS-first angle.

Direct peers

• Drewry Shipping Consultants: Maritime consultancy and research firm publishing shipping market intelligence, forecasts, and advisory services across container shipping, ports, and global trade — directly comparable to Hackett Associates' subscription research plus consulting model.
• Dynamar: Maritime consultancy specializing in shipping market analysis, port strategy, and container trade forecasting — a comparable small specialist advisory competing in adjacent maritime research niches.
• Maritime Strategies International: Specialist maritime consultancy providing strategic advice, market research, and forecasting for shipping, ports, and terminal operators — comparable consulting expertise and customer overlap.
• Descartes Datamyne: Trade data analytics platform providing import/export data and containerized US trade flows, with subscription access to port-level shipment intelligence — directly comparable container trade data product.
• Clarksons Research: Shipping intelligence arm of Clarkson PLC providing data, analysis, and forecasting across maritime markets including container trade and ports — directly comparable recurring-subscription research model.
• Ocean Shipping Consultants: Maritime consultancy providing market research, forecasting, and strategic advisory to shipping lines, ports, and logistics providers — closely comparable niche advisory footprint.
• PIERS (JOC): Provider of US import/export trade data including containerized ocean shipments and port-level intelligence — directly comparable container trade data product serving shippers and carriers.

Broad incumbents

• Seabury / Accenture: Maritime advisory practice (Seabury, now part of Accenture Strategy) offering strategic consulting to shipping lines, ports, and trade clients — comparable consulting expertise delivered at significantly greater scale.
• S&P Global Market Intelligence: Major data and analytics provider (incorporating legacy IHS Markit) with maritime and trade intelligence products — broader incumbent offering overlapping container trade and shipping capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hackett-associates-llc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hackett Associates