Thursday, December 22, 2011

Year-to-Date Cargo Stats Rise at Port of Tacoma

A total of 1.36 million cargo containers moved through the Port of Tacoma through the first 11 months of 2011, a 3.2 percent increase over the 1.32 million that passed through the docks during the same period last year.

Represented in that 1.36 million is a six percent increase in the number of foreign containers moved. There were more than 934,800 during the time period, compared to about 881,400 through the first 11 months of 2010, according to port data.

Full import containers were up just one percent during the time period, however, and the number of domestic containers took a dip, falling to 432, 200 this year from 443,700 during the same period last year.

Also according to port data, Tacoma handled nearly 16 million tons of cargo from January through November of this year, a six percent increase over January through November of 2010.

The port’s leading export commodity, based on tonnage, is grain. And for the 11-month period that ended in November, more than five million tons were exported through Tacoma, according to the data.

Other year-to-date cargo highlights include a 36 percent increase of auto imports, reflecting strong new auto sales in the US; a 71 percent increase in break bulk tonnage, which the port says is driven by agricultural, industrial and construction machinery exports; and a 69 percent jump in log exports.