Information about US ports is essential for analyzing the need and rationale for building a new container terminal in Coos Bay. Each year the United States Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics provides data for many aspects of the US container shipping industry. The data from the 2025 report pertinent to the decision as to whether Coos Bay could capture 10% of the west coast container market share.
(Citation for the report: United States Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Port Performance Freight Statistics: 2025 Annual Report. Washington, DC: 2025. https://doi.org/10.21949/z3wj-hd65.
CONTAINER VOLUMES
In 2022, after the Covid-19 pandemic anomaly, West Coast ports loaded over 17 million TEUs. The Port of Coos Bay is planning to capture 10% of that volume and plans to handle 2 million TEUs/year at full build out. This volume is greater than that handled by the ports of Oakland, or Tacoma, or Seattle in 2022. All of these ports have multiple terminals with many more ship berths than is being planned for Coos Bay’s single terminal with two ship berths.
| Rank | Port | Total (thousands of TEUs) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY & NJ | 6,660.3 |
| 2 | Port of Los Angeles, CA | 6,424.3 |
| 3 | Port of Long Beach, CA | 6,092.0 |
| 4 | Port of Savannah, GA | 4,329.9 |
| 5 | Houston Port Authority, TX | 3,252.6 |
| 6 | Virginia, VA, Port of | 2,861.9 |
| 7 | Port of Charleston, SC | 2,126.3 |
| 8 | Port of Oakland, CA | 1,791.2 |
| 9 | Tacoma, WA | 1,519.2 |
| 10 | Seattle, WA | 1,085.2 |
| 11 | Jacksonville, FL | 902.6 |
| 12 | Port Miami, FL | 889.0 |
| 13 | San Juan, PR | 832.0 |
| 14 | Honolulu, Oʻahu, HI | 828.8 |
| 15 | Baltimore, MD | 790.9 |
| 16 | Port Everglades, FL | 758.5 |
| 17 | Philadelphia Regional Port, PA | 728.5 |
| 18 | Mobile, AL | 440.4 |
| 19 | Port of Alaska, AK | 419.8 |
| 20 | New Orleans, LA | 352.7 |
| 21 | Wilmington, NC | 237.2 |
| 22 | Wilmington, DE | 204.4 |
| 23 | Oxnard Harbor District, CA | 197.8 |
| 24 | South Jersey Port Corp, NJ | 163.1 |
| 25 | Port of Gulfport, MS | 152.0 |
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, based upon 2022 data (latest available) provided by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center. Special tabulation as of July 2024.
ON-DOCK RAIL
Globally ports are moving to transition container transport to rail as it is financially and environmentally more efficient. All west coast ports, with the exception of Oakland, already have container terminals with on-dock rail facilities. Oakland, however, recently announced they are developing on-dock rail collaborating with the Port of Nevada to offer direct intermodal rail service via Union Pacific. The Port of Coos Bay’s plan to only have on-dock rail actually puts them at a disadvantage. If the rail line is compromised in any way then there is no alternative truck option, which is available at all west coast ports.
| Port | Container terminals | Container terminals with on-dock rail facilities |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, MD | 2 | 1 |
| Honolulu, Oʻahu, HI | 1 | 0 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 3 | 2 |
| Mobile, AL | 1 | 1 |
| Oxnard Harbor District, CA | 1 | 0 |
| Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, PA | 2 | 1 |
| Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NY & NJ | 6 | 4 |
| Port Everglades, FL | 2 | 0 |
| Port of Alaska, AK | 1 | 0 |
| Port of Charleston, SC | 3 | 1 |
| Port of Gulfport, MS | 1 | 1 |
| Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, TX | 2 | 1 |
| Port of Long Beach, CA | 6 | 5 |
| Port of Los Angeles, CA | 7 | 5 |
| Port of New Orleans, LA | 1 | 1 |
| Port of Oakland, CA | 6 | 0 |
| Port of Savannah, GA | 2 | 2 |
| Port of Seattle, WA | 2 | 2 |
| Port of Virginia, VA | 6 | 2 |
| Port Miami, FL | 3 | 0 |
| San Juan, PR | 2 | 1 |
| South Jersey Port Corporation, NJ | 1 | 1 |
| Tacoma, WA | 6 | 4 |
| Wilmington, DE | 1 | 0 |
| Wilmington, NC | 1 | 1 |
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Maritime Administration analysis, based upon individual port authority and marine terminal operator websites, including links to terminal-specific websites as of November 2023.
Note: Based upon active marine terminals handling containerships at each port. A rail ICTF within marine terminal boundaries, or accessible without movement over public roads. The presence of an on-dock rail transfer facility allows terminal workers to load containers onto rail cars within the terminal, thereby avoiding the need to transport containers through the terminal gates on the chassis.