LONDON: Ports from Los Angeles to Seattle accounted for over half of imports by value in September for the first time since last year
West Coast ports handled more than half of U.S. seaborne imports for the first time in nearly a year, the latest sign that the region has shaken off the effects of last winter’s labor problems.
In September, the Pacific ports handled 50.7% of imports into the U.S., measured by the value of goods, according to a Beacon Economics analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. East Coast ports’ share of import cargo fell to 42.6%.
The numbers have reversed since February, when labor negotiations brought major West Coast ports to a virtual standstill, and many shipping lines shifted their routes to stops along the East Coast. An agreement with dockworkers was reached that month, but the effects of the slowdown have lingered as shippers and carriers waited to see whether West Coast ports would run as smoothly as before.
The September data shows that shippers once again “have confidence in the efficiency of these ports to get their goods to market expeditiously,” said Jock O’Connell, an analyst with Beacon Economics. “Shippers are gravitating back to the West Coast.”
