Seattle October port import/export volumes off significantly

Seattle October port import/export volumes off significantly Cargo volumes at the Port of Seattle, a major Pacific Northwest gateway, continued to slide in October, according to the latest statistics released by port officials.
   Total box volumes for October dropped to 152,486 TEUs, off 14 percent compared to the same period in 2007.
   This is the seventh consecutive monthly decline for the port and the fifth straight month with double-digit decreases.
   The October numbers also bring the year-to-date total box numbers to 1.46 million TEUS, off 11.5 percent compared to the first 10 months of last year.
   Looking at the individual breakouts for the ports' October numbers, the port was down in monthly import and export boxes, with only empties reporting an increase.
   Loaded import box volumes declined in October to 58,927 TEUS, off 17.4 percent from the same period in 2007.
   October also saw a serious downturn in the number of loaded export boxes handled through the port, with officials reporting numbers falling to 33,607 TEUS, off 34.4 percent compared to October of last year.
   The volume of inbound empties handled in October rose to 7,617 TEUs, a 4.8 percent increase over the year-ago period. Loaded outbound empties for October were reported at 25,566 TEUs, up 22.5 percent over October 2007.
   For the year-to-date, loaded exports are down 15.9 percent to 573,348 TEUs and loaded imports have dropped 6.7 percent to 381,261 TEUs. Empties handled for the first 10 months of the year were down 13.3 percent compared to the January to October period in 2007.