TACOMA’S BOX AND CAR TRAFFIC, REVENUES ROSE IN 2002

TACOMA’S BOX AND CAR TRAFFIC, REVENUES ROSE IN 2002    The port of Tacoma, Wash. handled 1.47 million TEUs last year, an 11-percent increase from 2001.
   The port said that its container volume was driven by a 19 percent growth in international business, including a new transpacific service started in April 2002 by Lloyd Triestino.
   Port operating revenue reached a record level of $72.9 million, up 19 percent from 2001.
   The port commission of Tacoma has authorized a $341 million capital improvement plan.
   The port is set to begin first-phase construction of a new container terminal for Evergreen Marine Corp. (Taiwan) that will eventually have 237 acres and a 1.2 million-TEU capacity. The terminal is scheduled for completion in late 2004.
   The Pacific Northwest port reported that its intermodal yards handled 362,344 intermodal lifts in 2002, 37 percent more than in 2001.
   The port also recorded a record automotive import/export traffic of 180,173 vehicles, a 6-percent increase from 2001. According to Bob DeWald, the port’s senior director of industrial development and real estate, the increase can be attributed to purchase incentives offered by automakers, which kept U.S. auto sales strong despite the weak economy.
   The largest auto processing company in the U.S. — Tacoma-based Auto Warehousing Co. — processes vehicle imports for Isuzu, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki at the port of Tacoma.