Posted on October 22, 2020
The ports of Tacoma and Seattle on Tuesday offered the first glimmer of economic hope after seeing cargo slowdowns fueled by the pandemic and U.S.-China trade war.
The ports in September had their best month so far this year with the highest monthly container volume since October 2019, according to cargo statistics provided by the Northwest Seaport Alliance.
Full imports, still down 6.8 percent from 2019, saw their best month since September last year.
Imports were up 13.6 percent over August totals, driven by businesses bulking up inventory as stores stock up for the holidays.
Exports also were up 21.9 percent over August.
Tacoma/Seattle handled 308,682 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September, down 11.1 percent from 2019.
Despite the uptick, the NWSA reports that 2020 is still running ahead of 2019 in terms of canceled sailings, 59 through last month, more than in 2019 which saw 58.
In two bits of good news, the NWSA announced more funding for an ongoing project and a new agricultural export development.
The NWSA recently received a $10.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Terminal 5 modernization project in Seattle.
“This grant will support on-terminal rail infrastructure improvements and the expansion of refrigerated container plug capacity. The first phase of the T-5 project is expected to be completed in spring 2021,” according to Tuesday’s NWSA update.
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Source: thenewstribune
