NWSA container volumes jump 14% in March

The Northwest Seaport Alliance handled 334,483 TEUs for the month and 899,295 TEUs so far in 2017, year-over-year increases of 14.2 percent and 10 percent, respectively, according to recent data from the port authority.    The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), which comprises the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., handled 334,483 TEUs in March 2017, a 14 percent increase from the same month a year ago, according to recent data from the port authority.
   Loaded import volumes jumped 25.9 percent to 120,018 TEUs compared with March 2016, while laden exports grew 9.2 percent to 99,603 TEUs for the month.
   Domestic volumes, on the other hand, slipped 8.3 percent yer-over-year to 61,060 TEUs as Alaska volumes continue to suffer from “soft market conditions,” NWSA said.
   Through the first three months of 2017, total port volumes were up 10 percent to 899,295 TEUs compared with the same 2016 period.
   Container throughput at NWSA terminals grew 2 percent to 3.6 million TEUs for the full year in 2016.
   In other cargoes, automobile shipments were relatively flat at 44,317 units in the first quarter, while breakbulk shipments fell 16 percent to 38,114 metric tons.
   Log exports in March soared 76.1 percent to 62,753 metric tons thanks to stronger demand from China.