NWSA TEU Volumes Decrease 17% in July 2020

The Northwest Seaport Alliance handled 270,388 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in July 2020, a 17.2% decline compared to July 2019. Full imports declined 15.9%, while full exports decreased 23.4%.

Total overall container volumes for the year declined 18.2% compared to 2019. The NWSA handled a total of 1,834,652 TEUs year to date. Full imports declined 17.9%, while full exports decreased 11.3%.
 
The economic fallout from the global pandemic continues to disrupt supply chains across the country and around the world. The NWSA gateway experienced a total of 57 blank sailings through July, driven by COVID-19 and the lingering trade dispute with China.
 
“Experiencing nearly the same number of canceled sailings as we did in all of 2019 in the first seven months of this year, the global pandemic and the trade war between U.S. and China have unleashed unprecedented impacts to our gateway,” said CEO John Wolfe.
 
“Despite these very difficult times, we remain cautiously optimistic as shipping lines have announced only one more blank sailing through the end of 2020. This is a fluid situation, and we’re not out of the woods yet.
 
“The Northwest Seaport Alliance, along with our supply chain partners, continue to aggressively pursue new markets and innovative solutions. I also want to acknowledge that we currently have excess terminal infrastructure capacity, and we stand ready to handle the needs of our valued customers as we recover from these economically challenging times.”
 
The NWSA’s commitment to best-in-class service also earned its fourth consecutive Quest for Quality Awards from Logistics Management. Winners were selected by the magazine’s readers. Among one of four West Coast ports to be recognized, the NWSA scored the highest in ease of doing business and equipment and operations.
 
For the domestic TEUs, our total year-to-date volumes dipped 6.7%. Alaska volumes declined 8.1%, while Hawaii volumes were up 0.6%. 
  

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