Port of Seattle posts record month for containerized cargo

On pace for the best year ever

The Port of Seattle set a record for monthly container volume in September with 161,620 TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units) moving through the Port's four container terminals.

Year-to-date through September the Port's container volume is 10.9 percent ahead of 2003. At the current rate container volumes may set a new annual record by the end of the year.

"A combination of factors has put us in this very favorable position,” said Port of Seattle Commission President Paige Miller . “Beginning in the early 1990s we expanded our container terminals, improved road and rail access and bought new container cranes in anticipation of higher trade volumes. We took steps to make sure we had the physical capacity for growth."

The emergence of China as a major force in global manufacturing and trade also plays a role, Miller explained.

"The volume of trade through all U.S. ports - and West Coast ports in particular - is driven by the surge of products entering this country from China," she said. "In Seattle , we're getting our share of that growth."

Overwhelming growth in trade has resulted in labor shortages, vessel delays, and road and rail congestion in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – the nation's largest gateway for international trade.

"Shippers and carriers have turned to Seattle because we have ample capacity on our marine terminals as well as on our local roadways and on the mainline railroads that move cargo to the rest of the country," said Port of Seattle CEO M. R. Dinsmore.

Some carriers and shippers have shifted cargo to ships that regularly call the Port of Seattle, but one group of carriers, known as the New World Alliance has shifted an entire string of vessels from Southern California to Seattle during the peak season.

"Seattle is the only U.S. port of call for the New World Alliance's PS5 service from August through the first week of November," Dinsmore said. "The five ships in the service call at Yantian, China, Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, Taiwan before coming to Seattle."

In addition, major shippers such as Home Depot, Target and Wal-Mart have begun making greater use of Seattle and the Puget Sound area as a center for inland distribution of imported goods. New distribution centers in Sumner and Lacey supplement the already strong base of warehouse and distribution activity in Kent and Auburn.

"The growth of international trade through the Port is vital to the regional economy," said Dinsmore. "Marine cargo moving through the Port generated nearly 20,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in payroll. I think we're well positioned to grow our cargo volumes and increase our value to the regional economy."