NEW YORK: Despite steadily-growing container volumes, U.S. West Coast ports are still losing market share to East and Gulf Coast sites, extending a shift in shipping triggered by labor strife earlier this year at ports from California to Seattle.
The West Coast ports handled 46.8% of imports into the U.S. in July and 31.8% of exports, measured by the value of goods, according to an analysis by Beacon Economics of U.S. Census Bureau data released.
That is down slightly from 47.1% of imports and 33.2% of export value that moved through the Pacific ports in June. Analysts said the trend was likely due to the downturn in China—the origin and destination for much of the West Coast trade.
A slowdown in China “has a disproportionate impact on traffic through the West Coast ports,” said Jock O’Connell, an international economic analyst with Beacon Economics.
West Coast port officials have hailed July as a banner month—with the Port of Long Beach setting a record for container volume, suggesting big shippers were moving their business back to the West Coast permanently as their memories of epic labor-related springtime delays faded.
“All the business we lost to the East Coast has come roaring back,” Mr. Slangerup said.
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