West Coast Shipping Boom in August

The Port of Portland reported that shipping totalled 1,256,980 short tons in August, which was the highest monthly shipping volume in almost two years, since the 1,268,216 short tons in October 2008 (see chart above), and the highest shipping volume ever for the month of August at the Portland port.  Compared to August of last year, shipping volume was up by 27.8%, and the cumulative year-to-date volume is up by 39.5%.  

The Port of Portland is a major shipping point for grains harvested as far east as the Great Plains (Source: New York Times), and monthly grain tonnage in August set an all-time record high of 557,042 short tons (more than a billion pounds), due to an increase in demand for U.S. grains as the world economy recovers.

Shipping at the Port of Seattle also showed a significant 38.9% improvement in August compared to last year, following strong double-digit gains of 22% or higher in every month this year versus 2009 (see chart below).

Finally, shipping at the Port of Long Beach in August was the highest monthly volume yet for 2010, and was 23.9% above volume for the same month last year.  Total shipping for the fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) is 10.7% above last year. 

See previous post on LA Port shipping being back to pre-recession levels.