Talk of Tacoma eclipsing Seattle sparked by July Grand Alliance shift

THE Grand Alliance switch from Seattle to Tacoma, resulting in a 19 per cent transfer of container volume in July, is prompting talk of a permanent change in the relative weight of the two ports, says the Maritime Professional, of Palm Beach, Florida.

Linda Stryk, seaport manager at Seattle (Tay Yoshitani is head of all the divisions, including the airport) has been quoted as admitting that its junior rival could well do more business in 2012, said the report.

But that will take some effort as Seattle handled more than two million TEU last year, 500,000 more than Tacoma.

Tacoma imports made up 70 per cent of July's total, but were down on the previous month. Empties, otherwise known as repositioning, were at the highest for the year at 15,000.

The total volume for the year to the end of July was four per cent up to 875,000 TEU and port is only forecasting a total throughput of just over two million TEU in 2014, of which 500,000 will be destined for Alaska - about the same as Seattle.

"A more impressive statistic is that containerised breakbulk is predicted to rise from eight million tons this year to almost 14 million in 2016. Total cargo, including bulk, such as grain, is projected to rise from 16 million tons to 22 million in 2016, said the Maritime Professional.

The five-year capital budget to 2016 projects total spending of US$97 million, with container development taking up $43 million.