In this issue:
The managing members are expected at their Tuesday meeting to hear several project briefings and consider the CEO’s annual review.
Commissioners will hear an update on the Operations Service Center, Executive Advisory Council and peak season extended hours program, as well as briefings on the 2017 budget process, master policy update and Seattle industrial lands.
The action agenda includes the annual performance review of CEO John Wolfe. See the full agenda.
The meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. in Room 104 of the Fabulich Center, 3600 Port of Tacoma Road in Tacoma. Meetings are streamed live on the alliance’s website.
Hanjin Shipping filed for receivership Aug. 31. Hanjin cargo is handled at three Northwest Seaport Alliance terminals: Terminal 46 in Seattle, and Husky Terminal and Olympic Container Terminal in Tacoma.
Currently, Terminal 46 and Olympic Container Terminal are not processing any Hanjin containers. Husky Terminal is not accepting exports or empties but is unloading imports and recommends bringing your own chassis. For the most up-to-date information, please check each terminal’s website.
The NWSA continues to work with our terminal operators, railroads and cargo owners to better understand the impact this situation may have and how to keep cargo moving. Find the latest information on our website and subscribe to receive operations status updates by email.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance is reimbursing up to $2 million to extend gate hours at its international container terminals during peak season.
The program seeks to help import and export cargo flow efficiently by reimbursing marine terminal operators for some of the costs to operate additional gate hours each week. It’s one more example of the NWSA working to be the easiest gateway with which to do business.
The expected terminal schedules and additional hours for the upcoming week are published to the NWSA website each Friday.
View the NWSA’s 7 Tips for a Successful Peak Season to find more ways to avoid delays, increase turn times and reduce costs during peak season.
The marine cargo operating partnership of the ports of Tacoma and Seattle, The Northwest Seaport Alliance, marked its first anniversary Aug. 4.
Faced with intense competition and slipping market share, the two ports formed the NWSA to keep the Puget Sound gateway competitive and grow cargo volumes and jobs for the region. Forty percent of Washington state jobs are connected to international trade.
The alliance now manages the marine cargo facilities and business in both the Seattle and Tacoma harbors. Cargo volumes are recovering and the alliance is investing in infrastructure to continue growing.
Read about the accomplishments of this first-of-its-kind partnership.
Strong import volumes through the NWSA in July suggested peak shipping season was just around the corner, with full imports jumping nearly 12 percent compared to July 2015.
The alliance recently launched a program to help extend gate hours at international terminals to reduce congestion and keep cargo flowing through the 2016 peak shipping season.
Full export containers followed last month’s trend, surging more than 17 percent month over month on the strength of agricultural products. Total container volumes in July edged up 2 percent month over month.
See all cargo reports.
The ports of Tacoma and Seattle, when combined as The Northwest Seaport Alliance, ranked highest on the U.S. West Coast and second overall in the West Coast category in Logistics Management’s 2016 Quest for Quality awards.
Winners were selected by the magazine’s readers—the buyers of logistics and transportation services.
Readers evaluated ports using five criteria: ease of doing business, value, ocean carrier network, intermodal network, and equipment and operations. A port had to receive at least 5 percent of the category vote to win.
Hear an update on the NWSA from CEO John Wolfe at the Seattle Transportation Club’s Sept. 7 meeting.
Wolfe will talk about competitive threats facing the Puget Sound gateway and how the partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma is working to attract more cargo and jobs to the region.
The lunch meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Rainier Golf and Country Club, 11133 Des Moines Memorial Dr. S. in Seattle. Reserve your seat.
 A new high efficiency roll-on/roll-off (Ro/Ro) vessel designed specifically to take advantage of the widened Panama Canal and reduce its carbon footprint arrived Aug. 10 at the East Blair One terminal.
The first-call visit by the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) MV Thalatta indicates the larger locks in Panama open new opportunities for both Ro/Ro and container cargoes moving through the Pacific Northwest. The new locks opened in June and allow transit of much larger vessels.
The Thalatta is the second in WWL’s High Efficiency Ro/Ro (HERO) fleet, designed to increase capacity and cargo flexibility while reducing emissions. Its sister ship, the MV Themis, is expected to visit the NWSA this fall.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently released the Seattle Harbor Navigation Improvement Project Draft Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment.
The Corps and Port of Seattle have agreed on a tentatively selected plan of -57 feet Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) for both the East and West Waterways. It would make the North Harbor waterways among the deepest in North America and support the current and future generations of ultra-large container ships.
Learn more about the study.
We joined more than 200 buyers from more than 50 countries at the 2016 Midwest Specialty Grains Conference in Indianapolis this week.
The conference was focused on soybeans, the top value crop export from the U.S. The U.S. is the largest global exporter of soybeans, and the Pacific Northwest is the second largest region for soybean exports. About 26 percent of all soybeans exported from the U.S. move through Pacific Northwest ports to destinations around the world.
Read more about how the NWSA ports help move grains from U.S. fields to markets in Asia.
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