Traffic at USWC ports rises 6% in August

Throughput growth was held back by a mere 0.9 percent rise in inbound traffic at the Northwest Seaport Alliance ports – Seattle and Tacoma – and a 0.6 percent dip at Oakland, according to data compiled by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA).    The five major container-handling seaports on the U.S. West Coast – Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma and Seattle – collectively moved 55,808 more inbound TEUs in August 2017 than they did during the same month in 2016 for a year-over-year gain of 6 percent, according to newly data compiled by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA).
   However, the data also show that growth was held back by a mere 0.9 percent rise in inbound traffic at the Northwest Seaport Alliance ports – Seattle and Tacoma – as well as a 0.6 percent dip at Oakland, according to the PMSA, which released the data Oct. 20.
   In the Canadian province of British Columbia, the Vancouver and Prince Rupert seaports combined to post a healthy 9.5 percent gain of plus-16,904 TEUs in August, PMSA data show. Meanwhile, on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, the Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas ports saw a 7.8 percent — 12,145 TEU — increase.
   On the export loaded TEU side, the big five US West Coast ports handled 48,092 fewer outbound TEUs this August than they had a year earlier, statistics show, a decline of 10.1 percent. Of the five, only the Port of Los Angeles saw export growth, with its numbers rising four percent, or 6,192 TEUs.
   The two British Columbia ports saw their outbound trades fall by 7.16 percent, or negative-7,568 TEUs, while the two Mexican ports saw a 1.3 percent (1,151 TEUs) rise in August exports, according to the PMSA.
   Regarding U.S. Commerce Department value and weight trade statistics, US West Coast ports saw a 1.3 percent increase in containerized import tonnage over August 2016, but saw their share of mainland U.S. containerized import tonnage rise to 40.7 percent for the month, an increase over their 38.7 percent share in July and from their 39.7 percent share in August 2016.
   By declared value, West Coast ports held a 50.1 percent share of containerized imports at all US mainland ports in August, up from 49.2 percent in July and slightly up from their 49.6 percent share in August 2016, data show.
   However, when it comes to declared weight of the containerized exports, US West Coast ports saw a 6.2 percent drop in tonnage from August 2016, according to the PMSA, and their share of containerized export tonnage dropped in August to 39.9 percent, down from a 41.6 percent share in August 2016.
   By declared value, USWC ports had a 34.3 percent share of containerized exports from mainland ports in August, down from a 35.1 percent share a year ago.
   Looking at the Transpacific containerized trade, USWC ports’ share of the declared weight of the contents of containerized imports arriving at mainland ports from East Asia rose slightly in August to 59.3 percent, but was still lower than the 60.3 percent share the port held in August 2016, PMSA data show.
   However, USWC ports’ share of the declared value of containerized imports arriving at mainland ports from East Asia rose to 69 percent in August, up from 68.5 percent in August 2016.