Cargo Stats

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Monthly cargo reports

We are the fourth-largest container gateway in North America, and our regional marine cargo facilities are also a major center for bulk, breakbulk, project/heavy-lift cargoes, automobiles and trucks. We report volumes each month.

Sep 18 2020

NWSA TEU volumes decline 14% in August 2020

Sep 18 2020

The Northwest Seaport Alliance handled 276,407 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in August 2020, a 13.8% decline compared to August 2019. While down 3.9% year-over-year, full imports reached their highest monthly volume for the year as August marked the beginning of the peak shipping season. 

The economic fallout from COVID-19 continues to disrupt supply chains across the country and around the world. The NWSA gateway experienced a total of 58 blank sailings through August, equaling the number for all of 2019. Shipping lines have announced a total of three additional blank sailings for the gateway through October.

Total overall container volumes for the year are down 17.6% compared to 2019. The NWSA handled a total of 2,111,059 TEUs year to date. Loaded imports declined 16.2%, while full exports decreased 13.2%.

In August, the NWSA welcomed YM Triumph, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation's newest 11,000-TEU ship. The vessel, on its maiden voyage to North America, is the largest vessel to call at Husky Terminal since it underwent a major pier reconfiguration. YM Triumph, along with its sister ship YM Truth, joined THE Alliance’s trans-Pacific PN2 service in July.

For our domestic trade, our total year-to-date volumes dropped 6.4%. Alaska volumes declined 7.3%, partially reflected by the cruise season cancellations. Hawaii volumes were down 2%. In late August, Matson consolidated operations for its Hawaii and Alaska services from Seattle to Tacoma.

Other cargo stats:

  • Breakbulk cargo volumes were down 0.5% year over year to 180,007 metric tons.
  • Auto volumes year to date were 91,874 units, down 30% year over year.

View the August 2020 cargo reports:
Aug 19 2020

NWSA TEU volumes decrease 17% in July 2020

Aug 19 2020

The Northwest Seaport Alliance handled 270,388 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in July 2020, a 17.2% decline compared to July 2019. Full imports declined 15.9%, while full exports decreased 23.4%.

Total overall container volumes for the year declined 18.2% compared to 2019. The NWSA handled a total of 1,834,652 TEUs year to date. Full imports declined 17.9%, while full exports decreased 11.3%.

The economic fallout from the global pandemic continues to disrupt supply chains across the country and around the world. The NWSA gateway experienced a total of 57 blank sailings through July, driven by COVID-19 and the lingering trade dispute with China.

“Experiencing nearly the same number of canceled sailings as we did in all of 2019 in the first seven months of this year, the global pandemic and the trade war between U.S. and China have unleashed unprecedented impacts to our gateway,” said CEO John Wolfe.

“Despite these very difficult times, we remain cautiously optimistic as shipping lines have announced only one more blank sailing through the end of 2020. This is a fluid situation, and we’re not out of the woods yet.

“The Northwest Seaport Alliance, along with our supply chain partners, continue to aggressively pursue new markets and innovative solutions. I also want to acknowledge that we currently have excess terminal infrastructure capacity, and we stand ready to handle the needs of our valued customers as we recover from these economically challenging times.”

The NWSA’s commitment to best-in-class service also earned its fourth consecutive Quest for Quality Awards from Logistics Management. Winners were selected by the magazine’s readers. Among one of four West Coast ports to be recognized, the NWSA scored the highest in ease of doing business and equipment and operations.

For the domestic TEUs, our total year-to-date volumes dipped 6.7%. Alaska volumes declined 8.1%, while Hawaii volumes were up 0.6%.

Other cargo stats:

  • NWSA breakbulk cargo volumes were down 2.2% year over year to 160,098 metric tons.
  • Auto volumes year to date were 77,278 units, down 34% year over year.

View the July 2020 cargo reports:
Jul 17 2020

NWSA TEU volumes decline 16.4% in June

Jul 17 2020

The Northwest Seaport Alliance handled 287,036 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in June 2020, a 16.4% decrease compared to June 2019. Full imports declined 15.1%, while full exports decreased 8%.

For the first half of 2020, overall container volumes declined 18.3% compared to 2019. The NWSA handled a total of 1,564,263 TEUs year to date. Full imports declined 18.3%, while full exports decreased 9.3%.

The economic fallout from the global pandemic continues to disrupt supply chains across the country and around the world. The NWSA gateway experienced a total of 55 blank sailings through June, driven by COVID-19 and the lingering trade dispute with China.

The NWSA remains committed to handling future growth. A year after breaking ground, the Terminal 5 Modernization Project completed phase one of pile driving. The pipe piles were installed to reinforce the upland portion of the wharf and support the new super-post-Panamax cranes arriving next year.

Our total year-to-date domestic container volumes dipped 6.9%. Alaska and Hawaii volumes declined 7.5% and 3.8%, respectively.

Other cargo highlights:

  • NWSA breakbulk cargo volumes were down 1.1% year over year to 139,662 metric tons.
  • Auto volumes year to date were 66,934 units, down 30.5% year over year.

View the June 2020 cargo reports:

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