New Port of Seattle data reveals spike in void sailings, drop in truck traffic
Delayed shipping containers impact small WA businesses
Importers at Seattle's ports say traffic is quickly slowing down, despite the temporary truce between China and the U.S.
SEATTLE - As U.S. and China trade negotiations resume and tariffs shift yet again, small business owners across the Pacific Northwest are feeling the ripple effects, as evidenced by new data out of the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma.
By the numbers:
The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which oversees cargo movement through Seattle and Tacoma, has released its first-ever weekly update, and the numbers paint a mixed picture. Despite global uncertainty, international imports at the end of April surged 28% compared to the same time last year. But at the same time, the number of void sailings — ships that were scheduled but never departed — has jumped to 17 for May and June, five more than in 2024.
Truck traffic, a key indicator of goods moving out of the port and into the broader economy, has dipped by nearly 15% compared to the 2025 average.
Local perspective:
Among those struggling through the trade war is Hana Wilson, a French antiques importer from Port Townsend who’s still waiting for her shipping container to arrive. The vessel carrying her goods left Belgium nearly two months ago, navigating the Panama Canal en route to Seattle, but has been delayed at every turn.
"That 40-foot container traveling around the world really does have all of my capital in it," said Wilson. "This container is our largest, the biggest investment I’ve ever made in a business and has been keeping me up at night with scheduling."
Wilson, who has been living in France for nearly a decade, sources 19th-century furniture and vintage home décor for pop-up events in the Seattle area. She’s rented a gallery space in Georgetown for a ten-day sale — set to start in just a week — but fears she’ll have no inventory in time.
"We thought we’d have three to four weeks of lead time," explained Wilson. "My heart rate is up. I know we can pull it off."
Wilson says when she last shipped goods in the fall, the process was smooth and predictable. This time, it’s taken more than 60 days — compared to the typical 28–40. She attributes some of the delay to global shipping shifts that began years ago, when former President Donald Trump implemented trade tariffs.
"I think once President Trump was elected and started using the word ‘tariff’ people everywhere who were trying to export put their containers in the water or started sending ten containers instead of one," said Wilson. "My understanding was from every point along the chain there was just more containers in the water now it seems like there’s a lot less."
The current tariff on French goods sits at 10%, but Wilson fears an increase to 20% would make her business model unsustainable.
"Our margins would have made it not unsustainable but really risky, really really tight," remarked Wilson.
Social media says Seattle ports are empty — but data shows growth
Viral TikTok videos and Facebook posts claiming the Port of Seattle is "effectively dead" are spreading fast — but port officials say the rumors aren’t true.
Wilson isn’t alone. The Seaport Alliance says several exporters have reported canceled orders to China, and some importers have temporarily halted shipments altogether, especially seasonal items that might miss their selling window.
As congestion snarls the Port of Vancouver to the north — where some vessels are reportedly waiting three weeks or more to dock — Puget Sound is seeing lags.
Still, officials anticipate that some importers may use this window — prompted by a temporary tariff reduction with China — to speed up deliveries through Seattle and Tacoma before policy changes again.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Northwest Seaport Alliance and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
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