THE Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) - Seattle and Tacoma ports - has disclosed figures indicating a steady decline in container traffic this year, reports London's Port Technology.

This comes after NWSA reported a 27.2 per cent decrease in total container volume for March 2023, with 240,979 TEU handled.

According to NWSA, full imports fell 35.2 per cent as imports continue to suffer owing to persistently low demand.

Multiple vessel services that have left the trade since 2022 have also contributed to the volume decline. For the month, total exports fell 7.5 per cent.

Total TEU fell 23.7 per cent year-to-date to 1,142,115 TEU, with full imports and exports down 30.8 per cent and two per cent.

Domestic container volume fell 5.9 per cent year on year in 2023 compared to year on year in 2022. Volumes in Alaska fell by 4.1 per cent, while those in Hawaii fell by 13.4 per cent.

In February of this year, NWSA witnessed an increase in containerised full exports for the second consecutive month in January, growing by 3.8 per cent.

Two months later, NWSA unveiled its Rail Cargo Incentive Programme for 2023, which aimed to promote growth and cost-effective operations in the Pacific Northwest region.