Total container volume at the North West Seaport Alliance (NWSA), a marine cargo operating partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, decreased by 21.7% in January, compared with the same month last year, falling to 213,095 TEUs.
Additionally, full imports declined year-on-year by 30%, as imports continue to struggle due to elevated retail inventories and weak consumer demand. At the same time, containerised full exports at NWSA grew year-on-year by 3.8% in the first month of 2023.
More specifically, domestic container volume decreased slightly by 0.9%, while Alaska volumes increased by 9.7% and Hawaii volumes declined significantly by 40.4%.
In the meantime, breakbulk volume continues its uptrend, growing by 10.3% to 31,219 metric tons in January.
According to NWSA, the Ocean Alliance’s Pearl River Express Service will begin calling the Seattle Harbor at Terminal 18. The starting mid-March service, which calls between China and the US west coast, will feature 15,000 TEU vessels.
NWSA said that with a Seattle last-port-of-call, the service will focus on exports, bringing additional capacity for exporters in the region.
