Tay Yoshitani, CEO of the Port of Seattle, said the impact will be negative in the Northwest because Japan is one of the top five trading partners of Washington state.
Most of the major ports in Japan are located in the south, Yokohama, and Kobe, but the quake/tsunami has shut down the transportation system and many factories throughout Japan due to power shortages.
When our cargo containers stop in Japan’s ports, there could be nothing to pick up, according to Yoshitani. The ships will come back empty to the Northwest.
No one knows to what extent the loss will be, Tay said, but it will affect all of Japan’s industries and exports, including automobiles. ♦