The Port of Seattle continues to lead West Coast ports’ return to pre-crash levels, with April seeing one of the highest monthly box totals at the port since 2008. At the same time, the nearby Port of Tacoma continued its downward slide in monthly volumes that has continued unabated since July 2008.
Seattle port officials report that more than 166,869 TEUs were handled at Seattle facilities in April, an impressive 57 percent increase over the same period last year and higher than any single month at the port in the more than 18 months.
Seattle's total loaded inbound box volume also spiked dramatically in April, up 70 percent to 64,650 TEUs. Port officials reported that total loaded outbound volume also jumped upward 55.6 percent compared to the year-ago period, with 44,370 TEUs handled.
Total box volume at Seattle remains up 40.5 percent for the calendar year, compared to the same January to April period in 2009.
As an almost persistent mirror to the successes at Seattle, the Port of Tacoma in April again registered a drop in total monthly container volume – the 20th straight month of total box volume decline at the port.
Tacoma officials reported that a total of 107,370 TEUs were moved during April, a 15.5 percent drop over April of 2009. Total loaded inbound box volume also fell at Tacoma during April to 30,517 TEUs, a 15.4 percent decline from the year-ago period and total loaded outbound volume slipped 24.8 percent to end the month at 25,228 TEUs.
For the calendar year, Tacoma is down 14.9 percent compared to the January to April period in 2009.
