Cargo volumes at the major Puget Sound ports presented a mixed bag during January, with Seattle posting impressive total box numbers compared to the same period last year while nearby Tacoma recorded it's 19th consecutive month of total box volume declines and the lowest single month total box volumes in more than three years.
The Port of Seattle ended January with a total of 154,431 TEUs handled, a 21.9 percent increase over January 2009. Total loaded inbound boxes were reported up 36 percent to 67,418 TEUs while total loaded outbound boxes ended the month up a massive 63 percent at 37,207 TEUs, both compared to the year ago period. January was the sixth straight month of total box volume increases for the port.
The Port of Tacoma reported total box volumes for January of 92,900 TEUs, down 15 percent over January 2009. Tacoma has not reported a total monthly box volume increase since June of 2008 and January was the lowest single month TEU total since prior to January 2007–the oldest records Tacoma posts. In January, Tacoma also handled a total of 33,257 loaded inbound TEUs, a 19.7 percent drop, and a total of 21,411 loaded outbound TEUs, a 4.5 percent decrease over the same period last year.
