Back in 2015 when the two rival Puget Sound ports, Tacoma and Seattle, joined forces to form the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), the main focus was on the combined containerized throughput – and rightly so, as it is a top ten port in the United States. In 2022, the NWSA ranked seventh in the US in TEU throughput with 3.38 million.
But the dual port combination is about more than boxes. The NWSA is unique in its diversity of cargo and markets. For example, in 2022 the Alliance handled over 740,000 TEUs of domestic freight. That tally alone would put the NWSA in the top 10 domestic container ports. A great deal of the domestic freight moves through NWSA, an estimated 80% of Alaska’s trade (and some to Hawaii) with the lower 48 states. For this reason, many companies with strong Alaska business interests, like Seattle-based Lynden Inc, which specializes in transport service to Alaska, are located in the NWSA service basin.
Beyond containers, the NSWA handled over 478,000 metric tons of breakbulk cargo in 2022. Breakbulk has been a segment of Alliance that has been growing over the past five years. For example, in 2019 – the year prior to the COVID pandemic – NWSA handled over 246,000 MT but even during the pandemic the breakbulk numbers rose over 366,000 MT by 2021 before racing past the 400,000 MT mark in 2022.
Another overlooked segment of the NWSA cargo portfolio is petroleum. In 2022 the Alliance handled over 700,000 MT of petroleum, and in most recent years has posted well over 600,000 MT – the notable exception being 2021 during COVID.
The auto business segment has also emerged as a strong sector for NSWA. In 2022 the Alliance handled nearly 173,000 units, up 6.5% over 2021. The increase in auto volumes was largely due to Glovis America’s consolidation of its Kia and Hyundai vehicle imports to the NWSA. The recent numbers suggest that these totals will rise as in January 2023 the Alliance handled 23,682 vehicles, a 63.4% increase over January 2022.
Terminal 5 and Trade
In 2022, Phase One of Terminal 5 (T-5) in Seattle was completed, and the north berth opened for business. On January 7th, 2022, the MSC Monterey was the first vessel to call the newly modernized T-5. There has been since the project’s inception always a lot at stake with the T-5 project for the NWSA. With the T-5 investment, the Alliance expects to hit around 7 million TEUs by 2050, and without T-5 the number drops to 5.3 million TEUs – a drop of 1.6 million TEUs.
T-5’s attraction and potential, is based on deep water alongside and the availability of on-the-dock rail which connects the port to the North American hinterland.
Like other West Coast ports trade with Asia, China is the key trading partner. With the COVID lockdowns in China, tariffs and general slump in global trade, the expectation for 2023 is less than the heady numbers posted in 2021, coming out of COVID or even the leveling off year of 2022. Container volume for the month decreased 21.7% to 213,095 TEUs. The real problem was that full box imports declined 30%. The bright spot was that full box exports grew 3.8% in January, the second consecutive month of growth.
Starting mid-March, the Ocean Alliance’s Pearl River Express Service is scheduled to begin calling Seattle’s Terminal 18. The service calls between China and the U.S. West Coast will feature 15,000 TEU vessels. With a Seattle last-port-of-call, the service will focus on exports, bringing additional capacity for exporters in the region.
In Tacoma, Washington United Terminals (WUT) will be receiving two additional super post-Panamax cranes in the second quarter of 2023. These new ZPMC cranes will boast a 24-wide container row reach, a lift above crane rail of 175 feet, and a lift capacity of 65 long-tons using a spreader and 100 long-tons with a cargo beam. The cranes are expected to be operational in mid-July following the commissioning period.
