Excerpts from a recent article in the Seattle Times:
In March, the Grand Alliance shipping lines decided to move from Seattle to Tacoma. When that happens in July, it will take about 20 percent of the container business from the Port of Seattle, more if lines associated with the alliance, Zim and Hamburg Sud, decide to go, too.Seattle is North America's seventh-biggest container port; Tacoma ranks No. 11.
The good news is that the Grand Alliance will still call in Washington. The bad: The state’s two biggest ports are largely fighting each other for existing business rather than adding much. For example, in 2009, Maersk Lines moved from Tacoma to Seattle.
Beneath this rivalry is one harsh reality: Puget Sound ports have been slowly losing market share against most of their West Coast rivals since the mid-2000s.
