Northwest Seaport Alliance CEO John Wolfe reported Wednesday that full exports in January were down 13.4% year-over-year, from 66,410 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2020 to 57,517 TEUs this year.
“When … there is congestion at those other gateways, the vessel schedules are so far off that when they get to Seattle-Tacoma, the window of time for them to work the vessel and get back to Asia has been [significantly reduced]. They’re in a rush to turn that vessel around to try and get that vessel back on schedule. It has created problems for us,” Wolfe said in response to a question from American Shipper regarding the reason for the export drop.
“The exporters have a very difficult time planning to get their exports into the terminal in time to meet that vessel. The windows for delivery for these vessels are so tight oftentimes they miss that window,” he said during a videoconference Wednesday. “So we’re working with the terminal operators to see if they can do a better job of forecasting when those vessels are going to call their terminal and open up a broader window for delivery of the exports for those vessels when they are at berth,” Wolfe said.