The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), including the ports of Tacoma and Seattle, has reported a strong March, recording 309,993 TEUs, representing an 18.5% growth over the same month last year.
This is the 13th consecutive month of month-over-month import increase for NWSA, which said that shippers brought orders forward to avoid expected tariffs. Full international imports in March increased by 18.4% and full international exports grew by 2.9%.
According to the announcement, the BNSF Railway, Norfolk Southern, and the NWSA have collaborated to develop a three-day faster inland point intermodal product from the PNW destined to and connecting through Chicago. Through a combination of reduced on-dock dwell and faster transit, the total time from ship to Chicago will be six days, the fastest from any PNW gateway in North America.
Meanwhile, total breakbulk volume at NWSA terminals decreased by 36.1%, reaching 76,894 metric tons in the first three months of the year.
