The Northwest Seaport Alliance in September had its best month of 2020 and the highest monthly containerized volume since October 2019. While down 6.8% year over year, full imports reached their highest monthly volume since September 2019 as companies restock depleted inventory and prepare for the holiday season.
Compared to August 2020, full imports and exports are up 13.6% and 21.9%, respectively.
The gateway handled 308,682 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September, a 11.1% decline compared to last year.
The economic fallout from COVID-19 continues to disrupt supply chains across the country and around the world. The NWSA gateway saw 59 blank sailings through September, surpassing the total number of canceled sailings in 2019.
Total overall container volumes for the year are down 16.8% compared to 2019. The NWSA handled a total of 2,419,741 TEUs year to date. Loaded imports declined 15%, while full exports decreased 13.9%.