US West Coast (USWC) ports appear to have recovered significantly from the major port shutdown which took place in early 2015, having handled more than half of US imports, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Beacon Economics was reported as saying that, in September, the Pacific ports handled 50.7% of imports into the US.
Jock O’Connell, Analyst at Beacon Economics said the September data shows that shippers “have confidence in the efficiency of these ports to get their goods to market expeditiously. Shippers are gravitating back to the West Coast. As the word gets out, other importers of less valuable goods will follow.”
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West Coast ports experienced crippling congestion problems in early 2015, which were intensified by the West Coast port shutdown caused by the labour dispute between the International Longshore Workers Union and the Pacific Maritime Association.
Read a Technical Paper on how the US resolved congestion issues
The momentum of West Coast imports has been highlighted by the flattening of East Coast imports, with various East Coast ports seeing a decline in volumes over recent months.
Since the busy holiday season has picked up, the value of goods has jumped back up to 50% through the US West Coast.
