NWSA’s international TEUs through June 2019 reach record volumes

The Northwest Seaport Alliance reached record-breaking international container volumes with 1,559,903 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 7.6 percent increase from the prior year. The year-to-date international container volumes through June surpassed the record set in 2005 with 1,532,987 TEUs.

For total container volumes from January through June 2019, the NWSA handled 1,915,249 TEUs, a 7.6 percent increase from the same period in 2018. Import and export volumes grew 6 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively.

Total container volumes in June 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.

Domestic volumes in June remained strong with a 12.1 percent increase over June 2018. This marked the sixth consecutive month of domestic container growth. Alaska volume was up 16.4 percent from June 2018, supported by strong Alaska North Slope oil and gas activity. Alaska’s year-to-date volumes were up 8.6 percent. Hawaii’s year-to-date volumes were up 3.8 percent.

The NWSA announced the launch of the Gate Efficiency Program in June to help fund additional gate hours at our international container terminals through December 2020. The incentive-based program began on July 1 with participation from Terminal 18 in Seattle and Pierce County Terminal in Tacoma.