Containerized imports and exports through the Port of Tacoma
saw double-digit growth last month, pushing container volumes up 47 percent
over February 2012, according to newly-released data.
Imports posted the most dramatic increase, with a 62 percent
gain year to date to 114,176 20-foot equivalent units; exports rose 41 percent
to 81,567 TEUs, according to the figures.
For the year to date, port terminals have a total of nearly
300,000 containers, a 41.2 percent increase from the same two months at the
beginning of 2012. Of that almost 300,000 TEUs, about 234,300 were to and from
overseas destinations, a 55 percent jump from the same period last year.
Domestic container volumes, log exports, auto imports and
intermodal rail lifts also posted gains in February, port data reveals.
The surge in international container volumes is being
attributed by the port to shippers preparing for the Lunar New Year, when
factories in several Asian countries that export to the US close their doors
for one to two weeks. The holiday fell in mid-February this year.
The volumes also continue to show the addition of the Grand
Alliance, which began calling at Washington United Terminals in July 2012. The
Grand Alliance consists of shipping lines NYK, OOCL and Hapag-Lloyd. They moved
to Tacoma last year from the rival Port of Seattle.
