Port of Seattle Outpaces the Competition in January

The Port of Seattle was North America's fastest growing container port in January with a 54.1 percent increase over the number of containers it handled in the same month of 2004.

"It's a continuation of the strong performance we had last year," said Port of Seattle Commission President Bob Edwards. "The bottom line is more jobs for people in our community. We have capacity on our terminals to handle more cargo, a productive labor force and outstanding road and rail connections to the rest of the country."

Inbound full containers, the best measure of international trade moving through Seattle's harbor, posted a 57.4 percent increase in January.

Seattle set a new record for container volume in 2004 with 1.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). A new record of 2 million TEUs is expected this year.

Over the past dozen years the Port has invested close to $1 billion to upgrade and expand its marine terminals and increase road and rail capacity.

"We've worked with our partners in the public and private sector to make sure we can accommodate growth in international trade, and those efforts are ongoing," said Port of Seattle CEO Mic Dinsmore.

The Port just completed an expansion of Terminal 46, Pacific Northwest home of Hanjin Shipping, and signed a lease extension with terminal operator Total Terminals International that will keep Hanjin in Seattle for at least 10 more years and perhaps as long as 20 years. The terminal has a new truck gate, three new container cranes, new terminal buildings and 20 additional acres (8.1 hectares).

An expansion of Terminal 18, completed in 2002, doubled the size of that facility to 196 acres (79 hectares) and created a dockside intermodal rail yard. Terminal operator SSAT, which has a long-term lease for the facility, is planning to increase throughput and bring new container handling equipment to the terminal, including nine new top picks, four rubber-tired gantries and four new container cranes. Terminal 18 serves 15 carriers.

By mid-year the Port will re-open Terminal 25 under lease to SSAT in order to serve Matson Lines, a U.S. carrier serving Hawaii and Guam. The line will vacate space at Terminal 18, which will create new capacity at that facility.

A major expansion of Terminal 5 was completed in 1998, The project doubled the size of the facility to 182 acres (74 hectares) and added a dockside intermodal yard. Leased and operated by Eagle Marine Services, Terminal 5 serves eight carriers.

In the area of rail improvements, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad are examining ways to increase storage capacity for the benefit all of the Port's carriers and shippers.

Seattle's longshore workforce, ILWU Local 19, will add more than 100 members to its roles by the end of the year and by mid-year will open a new dispatch hall for casual workers. Together, these moves will ensure that Seattle has ample qualified longshore workers when and where they are needed.

"The major players in our harbor are coming together to take Seattle to a new level in container handling," Edwards said. "That willingness to work together on solutions that benefit everyone sets our Port apart and makes it a great place to do business."