Bill Mongelluzzo, West Coast Editor | Mar 23, 2012 2:41PM EDT
Container volumes at the Port of Tacoma declined 2.2 percent in February compared to the same month last year.
Containerized imports dropped 0.7 percent, while exports declined 2.2 percent.
“This dip reflects a predicted decline in international container volumes in February as factories in China closed their doors for the Lunar New Year holiday,” the port stated.
Continued increases in international and domestic intermodal container volume, however, helped drive the port’s intermodal volumes up 16 percent through February. This is the fourth consecutive month intermodal volumes increased.
Tacoma’s international container volumes are expected to increase later this year, due to continued growth in the U.S. economy and because a consortium of shipping lines will relocate to Tacoma from NYK Line, Orient Overseas Container Line and Hapag-Lloyd will move to Tacoma this summer.
Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @billmongelluzzo.
