The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s total year-to-date container volumes increased 5 percent while total volumes for the gateway declined 1 percent in July.

Year to date 2017’s total international TEU volumes were the highest since 2007. Year to date, full import volumes were up 6 percent to 803,357 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). Meanwhile, full exports were flat to 540,344 TEUs. Total international container volume, including empties, increased 9 percent year to date to 1,702,776 TEUs.

Full imports for the month of July declined 2 percent to 109,182 TEUs compared to last year. Full exports were down 13 percent to 63,599 TEUs for the month. Empty exports grew 39 percent as ocean carriers continue to reposition containers to Asia to keep pace with peak-season demand.

Recent changes in vessel deployments by the new ocean carrier alliances have contributed to July’s month-over-month softening of volume. The Northwest Seaport Alliance continues to invest in infrastructure to increase options for handling multiple super-post Panamax ships at the same time, and to streamline the movement of cargo through our gateway.

Total domestic volumes for the month declined 8 percent compared to the same month last year. Alaska’s year-to-date volumes are down 9 percent and are expected to end the year 8 percent lower than 2016 due to soft market conditions. Hawaii volumes through the Pacific Northwest are down 5 percent year-to-date due to diversion to Southern California.

Other cargo:

• Driven by consistent demand from China, log volumes continue to grow. They were up 101 percent to 186,582 metric tons year to date compared with the same period last year.
• Breakbulk cargo volume was flat to 108,321 metric tons year to date due to soft market conditions.
• Autos, at 82,480 units year to date, were down 23 percent compared to the same period last year, reflecting weakening U.S. demand and shifting manufacturing locations.

View the July 2017 cargo reports:

• Container volumes - July 2017
• Cargo statistics - July 2017