PMSA: Container traffic rises 8% at major West Coast ports in September

Further growth was stymied by a 15.3 percent fall-off in inbound volumes at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) ports of Seattle and Tacoma, according to Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) data.    The five major U.S. West Coast container ports – Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, and Seattle – collectively handled 70,751 more inbound TEUs in September than in the same month in 2016, a year-over-year gain of 8 percent, according to newly released statistics compiled by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA).
   Further growth was stymied by a 15.3 percent fall-off (21,141 TEUs) in inbound traffic at the Northwest Seaport Alliance ports, Seattle and Tacoma, the PMSA said Nov. 17.
   Oakland recorded a robust 12.6 percent jump (8,823 TEUs) from last September, data show, while in British Columbia, Vancouver and Prince Rupert combined to post an even more robust 19.3 percent gain (32,396 TEUs).
   On the loaded export side, the big five U.S. West Coast ports handled 24,767 fewer outbound loaded TEUs this September than a year earlier, a decline of 5.8 percent. Only the Port of Long Beach, up 4.1 percent (4,953 TEUs) saw export growth during the month.
   Meanwhile, the two Pacific Northwest ports saw their outbound trades slip by a combined 6.5 percent (8,026 TEUs) in the PMSA’s September export figures.
   Looking solely at U.S. containerized trade with the economies of East Asia, U.S. West Coast ports’ share of the declared weight of the contents of containerized imports arriving at mainland ports from East Asia dropped sharply to 56.9 percent from 59.3 percent in August and from an ever higher 59.8 percent share in September 2016.
   September’s share of import tonnage was the lowest in any month since the dock slowdown during the winter of 2014-2015, PMSA data show. The coastwide decline was primarily attributable to a plummeting import trade at the Port of Tacoma, which saw a 35.4 percent year-over-year fall-off in containerized import tonnage.
   But on the positive side, the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports saw their combined share of containerized import tonnage in September edge up slightly to 45.4 percent from 45.3 percent a year earlier.
   The Northwest Seaport Alliance ports, Tacoma and Seattle, continued to underperform in September, as statistics compiled by the Pacific Maritime Association show widely varying patterns for the two ports. At Seattle, PMA figures show a 15.8 percent (plus-7,227 TEUs) increase in inbound loaded containers over last September but a 26.2 percent drop (minus-22,795 TEUs) year-over-year slide at Tacoma.
   Likewise, Seattle’s outbound trade was up 20.3 percent, or 6,592 TEUs, while Tacoma was down 18.6 percent, or minus-13,454 TEUs. U.S. foreign trade statistics reveal a similar dichotomy in terms of the declared weight of foreign shipments moving through the two ports.
   Seattle’s imports were up 31.3 percent over September 2016, while its containerized export tonnage rose 10.7 percent. Tacoma, meanwhile, handled 33.5 percent less import tonnage and 15.9 percent less export tonnage in September than it had a year earlier.
   By declared value of containerized imports from East Asia at mainland ports, U.S. West Coast ports held a 66.7 percent share in September, down from 69 percent in August and from 68.7 percent in September 2016, the PMSA said.
   For containerized exports to East Asia from mainland ports, the West Coast share by declared weight tumbled to 55.4 percent in September, down from 63 percent in August and from 61.7 percent in September 2016. On a value basis, the share in September also dropped to 63.9 percent from 68.5 percent in August and from 67.9 percent last September, according to PMSA data.