The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s total monthly container volumes for December reached 349,055 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 11.6 percent increase over the same month last year.
Total import volumes were up 20.2 percent at 159,550 TEUs, compared to December 2017, as shippers continued to send cargo in anticipation of higher tariffs. Full imports, 138,873 TEUs, set a record for the month of December. At 140,749 TEUs, total export volumes were up 7.4 percent over last year. Total international container volumes for the month rose 13.8 percent year over year to 300,299 TEUs.
December also included the arrival of the YM Wondrous at Terminal 18 in the North Harbor. At a capacity of 14,080-TEUs, the vessel is the largest Yang Ming Line containership to ever call a U.S. port.
Total domestic volumes for December decreased 0.5 percent to 48,756 TEUs compared to December 2017. Alaska’s year-to-date volumes were down 2.7 percent due to soft market conditions. Hawaii volumes through the Pacific Northwest were down 4 percent year to date.
Total year-to-date container volumes grew 2.6 percent.
Other cargo highlights:
Breakbulk cargo volume was up 18.1 percent year to date to 248,933 metric tons.
Auto volume for December was 26,644 units, the highest monthly volume on record. Volumes for the year finished down 0.5 percent to 146,147 units.
The new Taylor Way Auto Facility in the South Harbor opened for business in December with the arrival of the first shipments of passenger cars.
