NWSA Cargo by the Numbers

Cargo operations in our region are managed by The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), which jointly operates the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. On Mondays, the NWSA publishes a weekly update of its volumes and metrics for both ports. 

The updates below include both the North Harbor (Seattle) and South Harbor (Tacoma) for the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA). 

Weekly Updates

Week of June 11 

Source: Northwest Seaport Alliance 

For the week ending May 30, volumes were down for the fourth consecutive week, and down significantly both week over week and year over year. International imports were down 27.7% from the week before and 41% from the 2024 weekly average. Truck trips were down 26% from the week before and 35.4% from the May 2024 weekly average. Vessel lifts were down 22.4% from the week before and 42.1% from the May 2024 weekly average.

This significant week over week drop was driven in large part by higher voids and one off-schedule vessel that was delayed into the following week. Almost all the vessels that did call were also carrying less volume than expected from recent trends.

Vessels that arrived the week of May 26 to May 30 would have departed Asia after several weeks of the higher tariff rates being in effect and before the pause was announced. This further reduction in volumes likely demonstrates the continued impacts of the elevated tariff rate. This recorded week is expected to be the low point of this dip, with fewer voids expected the two weeks after and vessels expected to be carrying higher volumes starting the following week. 

• Follow the detailed weekly update on the Northwest Seaport Alliance website
• Reference a full vessel schedule and four week lookahead 
   

Weekly Vessel Arrival Snapshot
 

Week ending June 5

Source: Marine Exchange of Puget Sound

• Overall vessel arrivals are more or less flat (53 --> 52)
• Container ship arrivals swung back toward what we'd normally expect while tank vessels fell off 42%

Weekly Vessel Calls

Source: Northwest Seaport Alliance 

+ A "void sailing," also known as a "blank sailing," refers to a scheduled cargo ship service that skips a port or region it was supposed to visit. 

Vessels: Year over Year Change

Source: Marine Exchange of Puget Sound

May 1-23

Monthly comparisons to same time last year for Seattle and Tacoma

• For vessels coming into Seattle, see the Ship Sightings page 

2025 International Container Volumes (imports and exports)

Source: Northwest Seaport Alliance 

• Bold = highest
• Italics = lowest 

• For more detailed information, check the Northwest Seaport Alliance website.

10-Year Historical Context 

Source: Northwest Seaport Alliance 

Below, you’ll find historical context for the last ten years in international container volumes (imports + exports + empty) by TEUs.

What’s a TEU?: The TEU stands for 20-foot equivalent unit, a standard that can be used to measure a ship’s cargo capacity. One TEU is 20 feet long and 8 feet tall.

•  Bold = highest
• Italics = lowest 

• See the NWSA Container Volume History (Excel Spreadsheet)