Driving Washington's economy

Marine cargo operations through The Northwest Seaport Alliance provide significant jobs and revenue to Washington state—a state where 40% of jobs are tied to trade.

Working together as a region

The 2025 analysis looked at all lines of business for the Port of Tacoma, Port of Seattle, and The Northwest Seaport Alliance in 2023.  

Together the Ports supported: 

  • More than 265,000 jobs 

  • $17.7 billion in total compensation  

  • Nearly $55 billion in business output 

An economic engine for Pierce County

A 2025 analysis found the Port of Tacoma’s lines of business, combined with cargo operations in the South Harbor of The Northwest Seaport Alliance, supported 41,095 jobs in 2023.

These workers earned a combined $3.4 billion in total compensation, and the businesses generated nearly $10.8 billion in revenue.  

A web graphic indicating 41,095 total jobs (14,400 Direct), $3.4 billion total compensation ($1.69 billion direct), $10.8 billion total business output ($5.38 billion direct)

 

 

Supporting 41,095 jobs

A pie chart with 14,400 direct jobs, 8,575 indirect jobs, and 18,120 incduced jobs.
  • Direct jobs are related to Port operations and include longshore workers, truck drivers, railroad crew and freight forwarders.
  • Indirect jobs are created by Port-related spending on goods and services and include workers at office supply companies, maintenance and repair businesses, and parts and equipment suppliers.
  • Induced jobs are created when people directly employed by marine cargo operations spend their wages on housing, food and other consumer goods. 

 

 

Highlights from the report

Marine cargo operations

The Port of Tacoma’s marine cargo business is managed by The Northwest Seaport Alliance, an operating partnership between the Port of Tacoma and the Port of Seattle. The NWSA is one of the largest marine cargo gateways in the United States. 

In Seattle and Tacoma in 2023 the NWSA handled:  

  • 23.8 million metric tons of cargo 

  • Nearly 3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) 

  • Nearly 1,700 vessel calls 
Cranes unloading containers off a ship.

Non-NWSA bulk cargo operations

In addition to supporting the NWSA’s marine cargo operations, Port of Tacoma tenants manage bulk cargo operations at the TEMCO Grain Terminal and Georgia Pacific Gypsum. The Port of Tacoma also supports car import operations at the Taylor Way Auto Facility beyond those handled by the NWSA. 

In 2023 the Port of Tacoma: 

  • Handled 162,960 imported cars, up from 36,530 in 2022 

  • Imported 48% of all automobile units across the NWSA gateway 

  • Moved approximately 2.5 million metric tons of grain and gypsum
A man in a hard hat stands in front of a grain elevator.

  

Real estate

The Port of Tacoma is an important real estate and economic development asset to the region, leasing to companies that create jobs. 

The Port of Tacoma’s more than 2,700 acres of real estate include: 

  • 2,300 acres of industrially zoned property 

  • 610,000 square feet of warehousing 

  • 757,000 square feet of other industrial space 

  • 345,000 square feet of office space  
An aerial shot with a large white single story building next to a terminal.

 

State tax revenue

Business connected to the Port of Tacoma benefits the entire State of Washington by generating tax revenue. In 2023, combined activities at the Port of Tacoma and NWSA’s South Harbor generated more than $104.9 million in total fiscal state impacts.

  • NWSA South Harbor cargo generated $85.1 million in state tax revenue

  • Additional Port of Tacoma business generated $19.8 million in state tax revenue 
A black vehicle moving quickly off a ramp connected to a ship.