The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) — the partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma — saw volumes grow month on month in August, although still down compared to the same period in 2021 due to persisting congestion issues in some major North American gateways.

In a statement, the fourth-largest container gateway in the United States said 

TEU volumes in August showed improvement versus July with laden imports up 15% and laden exports up 19% compared to July. 

YTD volumes remain down compared to the same period of 2022.

Total container volume for the month decreased 10.4% to 280,436 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with full imports declining 11.1% and full exports declining 9.9% year-over-year. Year-to-date volumes declined 6.2% to 2,347,740 TEUs, with full imports and exports declining 10.4% and 21.8%, respectively.

"Vessel delays and omissions due to congestion in other ports continue to negatively impact volumes at the NWSA," it said. 

"Import volumes are also reflecting softening consumer demand for certain commodities."

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma noted that domestic container volumes increased 0.8% compared to YTD in August 2021. Meanwhile, Alaska volumes increased 1.7% while Hawaii volumes declined 2.7%.

YTD August breakbulk cargo volumes grew 34.3% for 318,044 metric tons, and auto volumes were 95,108 units, down 17.6% over YTD August 2021, NWSA said.