Containerized cargo levels at the two major Puget Sound ports, reflecting what appears to be a similar downturn across the major West Coast ports, were both down in August compared to the same period last year.
The Port of Seattle continued a fourth-month streak of declining monthly volume numbers, with port officials reporting the handling of a total of 182,808 TEUs in August, a 14.6 percent drop compared to the year-ago period.
Import numbers turned downward sharply in August, with the port handling 66,013 loaded inbound TEUs for the month – a 25.5 percent drop compared to August 2010.
Exports were the sole bright spot for the port, with 52,203 loaded outbound TEUs handled in August, a 9.6 percent gain over the same period last year.
For the calendar year-to-date, the port has handled a total of 1,363,371 TEUs, a 5.3 percent drop from the first nine months of 2010.
Further south, Port of Tacoma officials reported handling a total of 121,033 TEUs in August, a 2.6 percent decline over August of last year.
On the import side, Tacoma handled a total of 40,902 loaded inbound TEUs, a 2 percent increase over the same period last year.
The export side was also bright for Tacoma as well in August, with a total of 26,505 loaded outbound TEUs handled – a strong 16.4 percent increase over export volumes in August 2010.
Tacoma remains in positive territory for the calendar year-to-date, up 1.9 percent over the January to September period last year with 963,533 total TEUs handled.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
