Container volumes at the US ports seem on an upward trend with the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) reporting the highest monthly total so far this year in September. Similarly, the port of Long Beach on the West Coast of the United States announced the best September in history in terms of box volumes.
“Consistent vessel arrivals along with increased intact intermodal rail volumes led to the strong performance,” said NWSA adding that “improved vessel schedules also contributed to the increase in export volumes.”
NWSA’s September container volumes reached 329,609 TEUs with total container volume increasing 15.5% over the same month in the last year. At the same time, full imports for the month grew by 31.8% while full exports increased by 33.6%.
The September performance improved year-over-year volume comparisons though low-import demand market conditions are expected to continue in the near term. Total TEUs declined 16.3% YTD to 2,203,757 TEUs, with full imports and exports declining 19.1% and 0.8%, respectively.
In the meantime, NWSA managing members approved US$9 million in funding for the final design phase of the future shore power installation at Terminal 18 in the Seattle Harbor. This includes US$1 million of grant funding through the Washington State Department of Ecology. The design is expected to be complete next year.
