Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) CEO John Wolfe reported March 3rd that container freight volumes rose by 9% in January 2021 compared to January 2020 totaling 288,289 TEUs. NWSA CEO John Wolfe expects strong first half of 2021.
Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) CEO John Wolfe reported in a March 3rd online meeting that container freight volumes rose by 9% in January 2021 compared to January 2020 totaling 288,289 TEUs.
He said he expects “a strong first half for 2021” but would not speculate for the second half of the year. However there is a caveat to the import surge. The waterfall effect from Southern California port congestion and equipment shortages has caused an ebb of exports from the Pacific Northwest – 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.
In answer to a question, Wolfe said NWSA is not as congested as the Southern California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach because the two ports collectively annually handle over 17 million TEUs compared to NWSA which annually handles around 3.8 million TEUs.
Port of Seattle Commission President Fred Felleman noted the NWSA gateway is a “discretionary port,” and that only about 25% of the containers that are unloaded are destined for local consumers. The remaining 75% is shipped by rail to easterly destinations such as Chicago.
As a result, he said, NWSA needs to be “scrappy” and “more competitive” and “invest in our infrastructure.”
Felleman noted that the new Terminal 5 at the Port of Seattle advances that goal by creating a new modern terminal handling facility with on-dock rail that will speed rail shipments without the need for trucking. The 200 acre facility will soon be welcoming new container cranes and will support electric shore power equipment so that ships can turn off their diesel engines and switch environmentally friendly shore power operations.
“It also means that we have a much more competitive situation because if your goal is to just get to Chicago, you can do that from any number of ports, and therefore we have to be scrappy and continue to invest in our infrastructure to be able to provide the quality of service that would make us a priority,” Felleman said.
The waterfall effect from Southern California port congestion and equipment shortages has caused an ebb of exports from the Pacific Northwest.
Wan Hai Lines new call at the Port of Seattle’s terminal 18 is example of the spillover from congestion in Southern Californian ports. Nasia, the first vessel of Wan Hai Lines’ new service, called Terminal 18 on Monday, April 5, 2021. The new, independent AA5 service calls Seattle with a first port of call and provides direct connections from Asia to the Pacific Northwest, reducing import transit times and increases loading options.
The service was announced in February when Wan Hai Lines revamped its services to provide comprehensive coverage that meets growing customer demand in the Pacific Northwest. The service calls Kaohsiung-Yantian-Shanghai-Ningbo-Seattle-Oakland-Kaohsiung.
And it isn’t just new service calls but also vessel upgrades. The YM Target, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation’s newest 11,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessel, made its maiden voyage to North America, calling at Terminal 18 in the Seattle Harbor on March 26 as part of THE Alliance’s PN3 service. The YM Target is one of Yang Ming’s new T-class level vessels. At 1,089 feet long and 157 feet wide, the YM Target has a nominal capacity of 12,690 TEUs and is equipped with 1,000 reefer plugs.
The upsized vessel will bring added container capacity to the service. The PN3 service rotation, which provides direct connections and fast transit from Asia, calls Hong Kong-Yantian-Shanghai-Busan-Vancouver-Seattle (NWSA)-Busan-Kaohsiung-Hong Kong. Two T-class vessels are already operating in THE Alliance’s PN2 service that serves Southeast Asia and Yantian and calls the Tacoma Harbor.
