b'22PACIFICCOASTPORTS 2023ajot.comWeather is bad but CaliforniasNorthwest Seaport Alliancetrade numbers are sunny By AJOT StaffBackin2015whenthethedomesticfreightmoves Californias2023exporttradenumbersareupwilltheystaytwo rival Puget Sound ports,throughNWSA,anesti-that way? TacomaandSeattle,joinedmated 80% of Alaskas trade forces to form the Northwest(andsometoHawaii)with By Chris Barnett, AJOT SeaportAlliance(NWSA),the lower 48 states. For this themainfocuswasonthereason,manycompanies Eightstraightdaysofreasonablyadjustedexportexportsmorecompetitive,combinedcontainerizedwithstrong Alaskabusiness heavy, destructive rainstormsfigures for the last 10 years,saidChristopherThornberg,throughputand rightly so,interests,likeSeattle-based wereforecastfortechnol- I am confident you will findfoundingpartnerofBeaconas it is a top ten port in theLyndenInc,whichspecial-ogy and agriculturally driventhe peak total export value forEconomics.ItisstillhighUnitedStates.In2022,theizesintransportserviceto NorthernCaliforniainmid- the state to be somewhere inrelativetopre-pandemicNWSA ranked seventh in theAlaska,arelocatedinthe March but weather aside, thethe past. Beacon Economicslevels but will likely fall fur- US in TEU throughput withNWSA service basin.StatesexporteconomyiscalculatesthatCaliforniastherastheglobaleconomy3.38 million.Beyondcontainers,the glowingfrom2022strademerchandise export trade actu- continues to pick up steam. Butthedualportcom- NSWA handled over 478,000 results.However,thenon- ally peaked in 2018. Imports for January com- binationisaboutmorethanmetrictonsofbreakbulk inflationaryoutlookfortheThecontinuedgrowthpiled by the U.S. Departmentboxes. The NWSA is uniquecargo in 2022. Breakbulk has current year, like the weather,ofthestatescurrentexportofCommerceindicatethatinitsdiversityofcargobeenasegmentofAlliance is mixed. strengthisinquestionforCaliforniawasthestateofandmarkets.Forexample,thathasbeengrowingover Californiasmerchandiseanotherreason.Onethingdestinationfor14.2%ofallin2022theAlliancehan- the past five years. For exam-exporttradewasboostedthatislikelyhelping(cur- U.S.merchandiseimports.dledover740,000TEUsofple, in 2019the year prior significantlyeventhoughrently) is that the U.S dollarTotalimportsslipped,how- domesticfreight.ThattallytotheCOVIDpandemic its share of the nations tradeiscomingofftherecord- ever, from $40,611 billion inalone wouldputthe NWSANWSA handled over 246,000 totalsremainedbelowpre- highlevelsseenlastOcto- (SUNNYcontinued onin the top 10 domestic con- (ALLIANCEcontinued on pandemicslevels,accord- ber,makingthenationspage 24) tainer ports. A great deal ofpage 26)ing to an analysis of freshly releasedU.S.ForeignTrade Division statistics by Beacon Economics of Los Angeles.Januarys value of Califor-niasexportedgoodstotaled $14,976 billion, up 9.3% over the $13,707 billion the state exportedinJanuary2022. Shipments overseas of manu-facturedgoodswerehiked by 15.9% to $10,025 billion from$8,650billionayear earlier. Agricultural products andrawmaterialsexports grew2.9%to$1.7billion. Re-exports, however, slipped by 1.7% to $3,212 billion.Whats especially encour-agingisthatafterstripping awaytheimpactofprice inflation,therealvalueof Californiasmerchandiseexport trade this January was up esti-mated 7.4% year-over-year, said Jock OConnell, Beacon Economics international trade advisor, in a statement.c ruNchiNgc aliForNiaN uMbersYet, there is conflict in the claims and number crunching. Californiaexportsreacheda record high in 2022, with com-panieshereexporting$188.5 billionworthofgoodstothe world,contendsSusanneT. Sterling,vicepresident,inter-nationalaffairs,California Chamber of Commerce.A Global LeaderThe Port of Long Beach is committed to being the worlds first zero-emissions port by 2035. Were at the forefront with the hemispheres most advanced cargo terminal and expanded electric and rail infrastructure.Susanne T. Sterling, California Chamber of CommerceHowever,OConnellsaid inexclusiveinterviewwith the AJOT, the fact is weve seensubstantialinflation inexportpricesrecentlyso ifyougobackandlookat'