Two Pacific Northwest ports saw container volume fall in March but Seattle and Tacoma in Washington state also signs that the drop in box business had reached bottom.
The Port of Seattle led the drop, with a 22.2 percent slide in loaded international container volume in March 2009 from a year earlier.
The decline was a big improvement over the 44.9 percent drop in loaded international container volum;e the port saw in February, and the 74,650 loaded international TEUs handled in March was 26 percent better than the port reported the month before.
Seattle's outbound loaded containers dropped 21.5 percent from a year earlier to 32,346 TEUs. March's inbound container count fell to 42,304, a 22.7 percent decline. Both improved over February, however.
The Port of Tacoma moved a total of 146,412 TEUs in March 2009, down 11.6 percent from 2008 after a 17.1 percent drop in March. But Tacoma also saw a boost in exports, with loaded outbound container traffic growing 33 percent.
Loaded international container traffic overall fell 16.3 percent in March from the same month last year, but business still grew slightly from February, when the port reported a 26.8 percent decline in loaded international volume.
Year-to-date, Seattle's total volume was down 23.6 percent to 329,274 TEUs for 2009. At Tacoma, the 379,174 total TEUs moved in 2009 represent a 14.7 percent drop.
The Port of Seattle led the drop, with a 22.2 percent slide in loaded international container volume in March 2009 from a year earlier.
The decline was a big improvement over the 44.9 percent drop in loaded international container volum;e the port saw in February, and the 74,650 loaded international TEUs handled in March was 26 percent better than the port reported the month before.
Seattle's outbound loaded containers dropped 21.5 percent from a year earlier to 32,346 TEUs. March's inbound container count fell to 42,304, a 22.7 percent decline. Both improved over February, however.
The Port of Tacoma moved a total of 146,412 TEUs in March 2009, down 11.6 percent from 2008 after a 17.1 percent drop in March. But Tacoma also saw a boost in exports, with loaded outbound container traffic growing 33 percent.
Loaded international container traffic overall fell 16.3 percent in March from the same month last year, but business still grew slightly from February, when the port reported a 26.8 percent decline in loaded international volume.
Year-to-date, Seattle's total volume was down 23.6 percent to 329,274 TEUs for 2009. At Tacoma, the 379,174 total TEUs moved in 2009 represent a 14.7 percent drop.