Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Seattle Port to Close Overseas Offices

The Port of Seattle has announced that it will close its international office in Japan at the end of the month and effectively close other offices in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

American ports for decades have maintained overseas offices to lure business and lobby for routes, but Seattle port officials said that routing and shipping decisions are now being made in the shipping lines' American offices or by beneficial cargo owners located in the United States.

While the State of Washington is making similar moves in regard to foreign trade offices, the Port of Tacoma said it has no plans to cut overseas offices or contracts.