The ports of Seattle and Tacoma directly support $5.9 billion in business revenue and $1.9 billion in labor income annually, according to a Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) on the benefits of marine cargo in Washington state.
The ports are North America’s fourth-largest container gateway. They support 20,100 jobs with an average wage of $95,000.
For every direct job, port activities supported an additional 1.9 jobs throughout the state, the equivalent of 58,400 positions.
The ports handled more than 3.7 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) carrying 26.1 million metric tons of containerized cargo in 2017. All but 700,000 TEUs were shipped to and from international markets.
Containerized cargo directly supports approximately14,890 jobs, totaling $1.5 billion in wages and benefits, and $4.5 billion in business revenue including $309 million from auto imports and $1 billion from breakbulk and other marine cargo.
“More than 90 percent of the world’s trade travels over water, with total volume expected to triple by 2050,” Clare Petrich, Port of Tacoma commission president and NWSA managing member, said. “NWSA ports need to be primed and ready to serve the future needs of our entire state.”
NWSA controls the ports along with five properties in the North Harbor and six in the South Harbor.