The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s total monthly container volumes in September 2018 increased 15.6 percent compared to the same month last year. With a total of 373,845 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), it was the fifth highest monthly volume in our history.

This September also marked the strongest September since the record-breaking month in 2005.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance import volumes surged to 163,582 TEUs, a 30.3 percent increase compared to September 2017. At 143,583 TEUs, export volumes were up a robust 8 percent from the prior year volumes. Total international container volumes for the month rose 18.8 percent year over year at 307,164 TEUs.

Contributing factors for the increase include four additional vessels that rolled over from August due to inclement weather conditions in Asia and shippers sending cargo ahead of tariffs.

Total domestic volumes in September also increased 2.6 percent to 66,680 TEUs compared to September 2017. Alaska’s year-to-date volumes were down 4 percent due to soft market conditions. Hawaii volumes through the Pacific Northwest were down 2.8 percent year to date.

Total year-to-date container volumes are up 0.3 percent.

Other cargo highlights:

• Breakbulk cargo volume grew 15.9 percent year to date to 180,185 metric tons.
• Auto volume was down 8.7 percent year to date to 100,648 units.

View the September 2018 cargo reports:

• Container volumes – September 2018
• Cargo statistics – September 2018