Productivity issues plaguing U.S. West Coast ports since Oct. 31 prompted the Port of Tacoma’s container volumes to dive 8 percent over the same month last year. It marked the end of eight consecutive months of growth.

While full containerized imports have grown 12.8 percent year to date through November to 713,047 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), most of those gains occurred earlier in the year. Exports for the year have increased 4.2 percent to 496,686 TEUs, and domestic volumes have improved 3.8 percent to 426,816 TEUs.

Tacoma handled 140,218 TEUs in November, bringing year-to-date volumes to 1.9 million TEUs. For the year, Tacoma’s container volumes are up 9.3 percent.

We continue to urge the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union to resolve contract issues.

For other cargoes, grain exports continued to rebound, up 53 percent year to date to 3.9 million short tons. Grain exports, which experienced a bumper crop this year, are returning to normal following last year’s historic lows. Auto imports, intermodal lifts and breakbulk cargo also posted gains, while log exports continued to decline, reflecting decreased demand in China.

Find the November cargo reports in the sidebar under "Downloads."

Download Cargo statistics - November 2014.pdf (28.82 KB), Download Container volumes - November 2014.pdf (23.97 KB)