However, with the Grand Alliance volume shift factored out, Seattle’s
full outbound volumes are up 4.3 percent YTD, according to port data.
In May, Port of Seattle terminals saw a total of 129,022
TEUs, down from over 174,000 TEUs in May 2012. Of the 129,000, full inbound
containers made up the largest portion -- 44,770 TEUs – followed by full
outbound, at 37,378 TEUs.
For the calendar year to date, Seattle has shipped 647,411
TEUs, a drop of over 187,700 containers from the same five months last year.
As a region, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma are down 8.5
percent for May 2013 vs. 2012 and down 0.6 percent YTD, according to Port of
Seattle data.
The Grand Alliance began three new calls each week at the
Port of Tacoma’s Washington United Terminals in July 2012 and since the shift,
Tacoma has seen year-over-year container volume increases while Seattle has
experienced the opposite.
The shift is expected to impact Port of Seattle
year-over-year container volume comparisons until mid-year.