The West Coast ports of Seattle-Tacoma, Wash., and Oakland, Calif., saw August import volumes rise in double digits over last year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which includes the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, received 113,972 loaded 20-foot equivalent units, a standard measure for container cargo, in August—a 31 percent improvement over the prior-year period’s loaded imports. Oakland saw loaded import container volume jump 15 percent over last August to 82,492 TEU.

Empty export containers more than doubled at the Washington ports to 44,393 and rose 15.6 percent to 41,659 in Oakland—likely because of a lack of demand from weak foreign economies as well as a seasonal repositioning of containers to accommodate extra holiday volume in the coming months. Loaded exports were up slightly in Seattle-Tacoma and remained essentially flat in Oakland relative to last August.

Read more here.