Puget Sound Container Volumes Surge

By Mark Edward Nero

Robust import volumes pushed March container volumes at the ports of Tacoma and Seattle up 21 percent over the same month a year ago, according to newly-released data.

The ports handled a combined 361,951 TEUs last month, making March the busiest month since September 2014, according to data released on April 17.

March 2015 was the first full month since the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore & Warehouse Union announced a tentative five-year contract. In the months before the agreement, productivity had slid significantly, with each side blaming the other for the congestion.

The labor agreement was reached at the end of February.

The ports say they expect volumes to remain higher than normal in the coming months as vessels return to normal service schedules and manufacturers in Asia work to clear excess inventory.

Through the first three months of the year, container volumes grew a combined three percent at the ports to 822,969 TEUs, compared to 802,517 containers during the same period last year.

The ports saw a total of 10 million metric tons of cargo last month, a 9.1 percent jump over March 2014, according to data.

In other cargo news, log exports fell 41 percent year to date, something the ports attribute to a slowing Chinese economy; and breakbulk cargo grew 10 percent, which the ports says is due to the strength of farm equipment exports.

Seattle, Tacoma Ports Announce Strategic Alliance

By Mark Edward Nero

The Seattle and Tacoma ports said Oct. 7 that they plan to unify the management of their marine cargo terminals and related functions under a single seaport alliance, with the goal being to strengthen the Puget Sound gateway and attract more marine cargo for the region.

The alliance is to manage marine cargo terminal investments and operations, planning and marketing, while the individual port commissions retain their existing governance structures and ownership of assets.

The ports say the level of cooperation between the state’s two largest container ports, which is unprecedented, is a strategic response to the competitive pressures that are reshaping the global shipping industry.

“The ports of Seattle and Tacoma face fierce competition from ports throughout North America, as shipping lines form alliances, share space on ever-larger vessels and call at consolidated terminals at fewer ports,” Port of Tacoma Commission President Clare Petrich said. “Working together, we can better focus on financially sustainable business models that support customer success and ensure our ability to reinvest in terminal assets and infrastructure.”

Taken together, marine cargo operations at both ports support over 48,000 jobs across the region.

“Where we were once rivals, we now intend to be partners,” Port of Seattle Commission Co-President Stephanie Bowman said. “Instead of competing against one another, we are combining our strengths to create the strongest maritime gateway in North America.”

The alliance is the outgrowth of talks that began in January and were held with permission from the Federal Maritime Commission, the agency responsible for regulating the U.S. international ocean transportation system.

Subject to further FMC review and approval, the two port commissions plan to enter into an interlocal agreement, which is intended to provide a framework for a period of due diligence to examine business objectives, strategic marine terminal investments, financial returns, performance metrics, organizational structure and more.

The two commissions expect to formally adopt and move to submit the interlocal agreement to the FMC at a joint public meeting Oct. 14. A more detailed agreement for the alliance is expected to be submitted by the commissions to the FMC by the end of March 2015.

During the due diligence period, Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe and Port of Seattle Deputy CEO Kurt Beckett are to co-lead the planning work and coordinate with both port commissions; Wolfe is expected to be hired as the alliance’s CEO next spring following the FMC’s approval of the agreement.

The ports say that citizen and stakeholder public review of the alliance proposal will be undertaken throughout the due diligence period and that information about public meetings, how to submit written comments and other related news will be posted on both ports’ websites in the future as warranted.