The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), encompassing the harbors of Seattle and Tacoma, reported improvements across all key weekly metrics compared to the prior week, yet overall activity remains depressed when measured against volumes recorded in September 2024.

In its weekly report for the period ending September 26, 2025, the NWSA highlighted that while the momentum was positive week-over-week, the year-over-year differential shows the Alliance is processing fewer containers and transactions than it did in the same period last year.

Key Year-Over-Year Differentials Highlighted

The largest differential was recorded in International Import Containers. For the week ending September 26, 2025, 15,460 containers were imported. This figure was down 8.7% compared to the September 2024 weekly average of 16,936 containers.

Other significant metrics also showed shortfalls compared to the previous year’s monthly average:

• Truck Transactions: Transactions—which measure containers entering or exiting the terminal via truck—were down 8.2% compared to the September 2024 weekly average of 28,215 transactions.

• Vessel Lifts: Weekly vessel lifts (containers moved on or off a vessel, including empty moves) were down 8.1% compared to the September 2024 weekly average of 29,261 lifts.

Context and Recent Gains

Despite the year-over-year downturn against the September 2024 average, the recent weekly data indicates a strong rebound from the previous week. International imports were up 29.2% from the week before. Truck transactions increased by 10.1% week-over-week, and vessel lifts saw a slight increase of 2.3%.

Furthermore, when comparing the week ending September 26, 2025 (15,460 containers imported) to the broader 2024 Weekly Average (13,592 containers), imports were actually up 13.7%.

In terms of overall vessel activity, the number of voyages recorded for September 2025 (60 voyages) was slightly lower than those recorded in September 2024 (63 voyages). The most recent weeks tracked 12 voyages for both the week ending September 19 and the week ending September 26.

The report was distributed by Kate Nolan, Manager of Communication & Outreach for The Northwest Seaport Alliance