April 2019 was the busiest April ever for The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s international container volumes. At 265,781 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), it marked an 18.4 percent rise over April 2018. International container volumes for the first four months of 2019 also set records at 1,041,303 TEUs, a 13.6 percent increase from the prior year.

“While we continue to monitor the effects of tariffs, we remain committed to supporting our customers move cargo efficiently through our gateway,” said Tong Zhu, NWSA’s chief commercial officer and chief strategy officer.

In April, the PN4 service — THE Alliance’s fourth Asia service — began calling Washington United Terminal (WUT) in our South Harbor. Additionally, the arrival of Matson’s Mahimahi marked the first containership to call at Terminal 5 in the North Harbor since July 2014. Matson’s newest ship the Kaimana Hila also joined the weekly Hawaii service, which will be operated by SSA Terminals. Matson relocated from Terminal 30 to the south berth of Terminal 5 as the north berth of the 185-acre terminal prepares to undergo modernizations.

Total domestic volumes for April increased 5.4 percent to 58,167 TEUs compared to April 2018, marking the fourth consecutive month of domestic cargo growth. Alaska’s year-to-date volumes were up 7.1 percent following an unusually robust January. Hawaii volumes through the Pacific Northwest were up 2.9 percent for this year.

For total container volumes, the NWSA moved 323,948 TEUs in April, up 15.8 percent over the same period last year. Import and export volumes were up 14.3 percent and 22.4 percent respectively. Total container volumes for 2019 reached 1,256,236 TEUs, a 12.2 percent increase from 2018, year to date, with import and export volumes growing 12.8 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively.

Other cargo highlights:

• Breakbulk cargo volume was up 27.6 percent year to date to 90,806 metric tons.
• NWSA auto volume year to date was 50,156 units, up 22.5 percent.

View the April 2019 cargo reports:

• Container volumes – April 2019
• Cargo statistics – April 2019