The Northwest Seaport Alliance (Seattle + Tacoma) Weekly Volumes & Metrics Report 5/19/25

A container ship being unloaded in Commencement Bay. The Budapest Express is unloaded at the port of Tacoma's Husky Terminal as the Don Pasquale heads out of Commencement Bay Tuesday, May 13, 2025.

For the week of 5/5 to 5/9 international imports slowed significantly, 30% lower compared to the previous week. International imports are also down almost 23% compared to our weekly average for the year. The week of 5/9 also reflected the first void of one of the largest NWSA service calls that has reduced their schedule from a weekly to a bi-weekly. 

Vessels now calling our gateway had left China or other Asian ports 2 to 4 weeks ago when tariffs were at their highest. We expect this downward trend to continue for the next few weeks as vessels that were loaded and departed after the April 9 announcements reach the NWSA.

You can find last week’s report here. You can find the full vessel schedule, including the 4 week look ahead and breakdown by harbor, here.

Vessel Calls

*Void (or blank) sailings are when a regularly scheduled service skips our port.
Week Ending April 25 – 13 Voyages (2 Void Sailings) 

Week Ending May 2 - 13 voyages (1 Void Sailing) 

Week Ending May 9 – 12 Voyages (1 Void Sailing) 

Week Ending May 16 – 12 Voyages (2 Void Sailings) 

Week Ending May 23 – 13 Voyages (1 Void Sailing)

Weekly International Import Containers

Week Ending May 9 – 10,577 containers imported 

-22.9% vs 2025 YTD Average (13,710)  

-22.2% vs 2024 Weekly Average (13,592)  

-10.7% vs April 2024 Weekly Average (11,850)

Weekly Truck Transactions (Containers In/Out of Terminal via Truck)

Week Ending May 9 – 22,521 truck transactions 

-11.2% vs 2025 YTD Average (25,371)  

-12.7% vs April 2024 (25,787)

Weekly Vessel Lifts (Containers On/Off a Vessel)

Week Ending May 9 – 22,815 

-20.8% vs 2025 YTD Average (28,814)  

-12.8% vs April 2024 (26,158)  

*Includes Empty Container Moves

Anecdotal Information from NWSA Customers

Multiple import Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs) have confirmed that since the US-China agreement was announced last week, bookings from China have surged significantly. Feedback indicates that many importers will attempt to bring in orders prior to the end of the current 90-day pause. Vessel space will likely be fully utilized during the period of high demand. 

Monthly Statistics

Highlights of the April monthly report are:

·         Total NWSA TEU volume increased 7.4% April 2025 vs. April 2024 and is up 15.9% YTD. 

·         International volume increased 8.6% April 2025 vs. April 2024 and is up 20% YTD. 

·         Domestic volume increased 3.6% April 2025 vs. April 2024 and is up 2.5% YTD. 

·         Full international imports in April increased 8.8%, marking 14 consecutive months of month-over-month growth.  

·         Full international exports decreased 1.7%.  

·         Total container volume (international and domestic) for the month reached 277,828 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). 

·          YTD volumes are up 15.9%, with full imports growing 21.7% and full exports declining 0.5%. 

April’s full import and export numbers were released 5/19 and can be found here. March’s numbers can be found here.