NWSA’s container volumes dip in August

Total monthly container volumes in August 2018 dropped 6.9 percent compared to the same month last year, for a total of 314,321 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Contributing factors included weather conditions in Asia, which caused vessel delays and threw ships off schedule.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance import volumes reached 125,385 TEUs, a 2.4 percent decrease compared to August 2017. At 121,853TEUs, export volumes were down 10.5 percent from the prior year volumes. Total international container volumes decreased 6.6 percent year over year at 247,238TEUs.

Despite the dip in volumes, the NWSA celebrated a big infrastructure milestone in August as all four super-post-Panamax cranes at Husky Terminal in our South Harbor went into service, allowing bigger ships to berth without stow restrictions. Evergreen also began introducing larger ships for two of its services in Tacoma.

Total domestic volumes in August decreased 8.2 percent to 67,083TEUs compared to August 2017. Alaska’s year-to-date volumes were down 5 percent due to soft market conditions. Hawaii volumes through the Pacific Northwest were down 2.6 percent.

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