Washington state’s Port of Tacoma posted a two per cent increase in container volume in 2011 year on year to 1,488,799 TEU, boosted by an 11 per cent increase in exports with agricultural produce leading.

Import container volume increased one per cent, which the port said “reflected the continued overall sluggishness of the economy” with international box throughput up five per cent while total domestic container traffic – Alaska, Guam and Hawaii – was down three per cent.

The Tacoma port authority said agriculture produce accounted for more than half of its full containerised exports, reported London’s Containerisation International. Leading agriculture exports through Tacoma include potatoes, hops and hay. Fresh or frozen potatoes were up 106 per cent while containerised lumber exports were up 33 per cent, driven by Chinese construction demand.

The port forecasts a flat 2012 for containers, adding that log and lumber export volumes will depend largely on the strength of the Chinese real estate market.

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