A 12 percent increase in full containerized imports helped fuel a four percent overall rise in container volumes in January at the Port of Tacoma, according to newly-released data.
A total of 39,386 full inbound containers from outside the US came through the port last month, a leap of 12.4 percent over January 2011. The number of full outbound containers also rose, reaching 27,714, a four percent increase from the year prior.
The port is partially crediting the increased import volumes to growth in various commodities, such as industrial equipment, toys and electronics.
Additionally, the total volume of international full containers at the port rose 8.8 percent last month, and the number of international empties handled rose 5.3 percent.
Not all the news was good, however. Domestic containerized volumes from Alaska and Hawaii dropped five percent in January, falling from 33,387 to 31,732. This was the one significant decline for the month however, as most categories saw increases compared with the same month in 2011.
Other year-over-year Tacoma cargo jumps included break bulk volumes, which climbed 66 percent; log exports, which rose 60 percent; and total tonnage, which reached 1.3 million tons, an eight percent increase.
Overall for the month, the port’s total numbers TEUs rose from 105,289 in January 2011 to 109,597 last month, a 4.1 percent increase. Tacoma’s total containerized cargo volume rose to 745,458 in January, a 4.8 percent elevation from the same month last year.
