Box volumes at the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), a marine cargo operating partnership comprising the ports of Seattle and Tacoma in the United States, fell 9.4% in 2022.
NWSA handled 3,384,018 TEUs last year, with full imports and exports down 14.1% and 19.7%, respectively.
The alliance said that “imports were impacted by high inventories, and exports were impacted by the strong dollar, ongoing tariffs in key markets, and lower vessel capacity from voided sailings.”
Total container volume declined 8.8% month-on-month to 231,799 TEUs in December with total imports falling 12.4% and total exports gaining 14.9%.
The previous year was a record-breaking year for breakbulk cargo at NWSA-operated breakbulk facilities, reporting 342,351 metric tons. Breakbulk freight volumes increased 30.7% across all facilities in 2022, totalling 478,455 metric tons.
Additionally, auto volumes increased by 5.6% year-on-year reaching 171,544 units in 2022.
NWSA announced that Washington United Terminals (WUT) will be receiving two additional super post-Panamax cranes in the second quarter of 2023, which will enhance container handling capabilities, allowing WUT to handle the larger vessels being deplloyed in the NWSA gateway.
These new ZPMC machines will boast a 24-wide container row reach, a lift above crane rail of 53 meters, and a lift capacity of 65 long-tons using a spreader and 100 long-tons with a cargo beam.
