The US port authority Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) has achieved record-breaking half-year results, handling 1.56 million TEUs, a 7.6 percent increase from the prior year.
Additionally, year-to-date international container volumes through June surpassed the record set in 2005 with 1.53 million TEUs.
In terms of total container volumes from January through June 2019, NWSA’s Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma handled 1.91 million TEUs, a 7.6 percent increase from the same period in 2018.
NWSA noted that the record volumes were achieved despite a June slowdown in which container volumes reached 343,221 TEUs, a 2.3 percent decrease from June 2018. One factor was that shipping lines canceled several sailings to manage container overcapacity for the trans-Pacific trade.
International imports were down 5.9 percent, and exports were down 5 percent over June 2018, according to NWSA. Domestic volumes in June remained strong, however, with a 12.1 percent increase over June 2018. This marked the sixth consecutive month of domestic container growth.
When it comes to breakbulk cargo, NWSA said volumes were up 17.1 percent year to date to 141,266 metric tons. Auto volumes year to date were also strong, rising by 18.8 percent to 80,674 units.