Friday, October 2, 2026
The Port of Olympia is seeing less vessel traffic so far this year, but revenue per ship is a bright spot.
Marine Terminal Senior Manager Afsin Yilmaz shared the update with the Port of Olympia Commission at a meeting on Monday, July 28.
Yilmaz said the Marine Terminal handled six vessels in the first half of the year — two carried paper pulp cargo, while four transported logs.
For reference, the terminal had a total of four ship calls for paper pulp cargo and 15 for logs in 2024.
Yilmaz expects to end the year with around 14 or 15 vessel calls.
The decline was attributed to a drop in log shipments, which Yilmaz said has been an ongoing thing despite the political climate.
“It's been going down significantly even before the Chinese tariffs,” Yilmaz said. “Now there are no vessels that are departing for China, so it's only Japan and Korea.”
Yilmaz noted the terminal historically handled 20 to 24 vessels for log cargos annually, but the number is down to 12 to 15 each year.
For the paper pulp side of the business, Yilmaz said the segment is gradually expanding, though its customer, Suzano of Brazil, is facing a 50% tariff starting on Aug. 1.
“Nobody knows what's happening on that front because it was based on a very political action, but that will be a major disturbance,” Yilmaz said.
In terms of tonnage, the terminal also saw lighter cargoes due to fewer logs.
The terminal handled 150,00 metric tons of cargo in the first half of the year. In 2024, the marine terminal handled almost 540,000 metric tons.
Yilmaz said the downturn would affect the port’s ability to leverage federal grants, especially grants that support dredging activities.
“Losing that much tonnage with the log business affects us a lot,” Yilmaz said.
He also mentioned inflation as a challenge with rising costs of engineering services, industrial equipment and construction. The terminal has a custom index to keep track of inflation. Yilmaz said the custom index is 2% to 3% higher than the consumer price index.
Despite the challenges, revenue per vessel is in a good place, which Yilmaz attributed to diversified cargo. Revenue per vessel in the first half of 2025 was $152,000, which is around the same as in 2024. In 2021, revenue per vessel was $68,000.
Yilmaz emphasized the need for further diversification to grow the terminal business.
When asked what opportunities there are, Yilmaz said the terminal can focus on companies that deal with smaller quantities. He said there’s a missing market for mid-sized cargoes, which major ports can’t prioritize.
“If there are small obstacles, those ports don't necessarily work so much for it because it's not worth it to them, but it's different for us, and we can make that happen,” Yilmaz said.
The purpose of Yilmaz’s update was to also share the state of the port’s finances. For the first half of the year, the marine terminal generated $1.95 million in revenue, with tenants being the largest driver. Revenue from tenants generated $1.45 million, while revenue from vessel operations produced $915,000.
In total, the terminal netted a loss of $184,000 in the first half of the year, compared with a profit of almost $570,000 in the same period last year.
Yilmaz noted, however, that before depreciation costs, the terminal is still in the green, which is something it has maintained since 2021. Depreciation costs are the costs of capital assets — equipment, vehicles and buildings — spread over their useful life.
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ConservativeHippie
Port Commissioner candidate Anthony Hemstad has amazing ideas to grow port revenue from his experience with the World Trade Center Tacoma.
Thursday, July 31, 2025 Report this
36098501
Port of Olympia financial reporting looks more like art and less like accounting from the perspective of those in the community..
The Port may follow GAAP compliance to meet internal requirements and reviews by the Washington State auditor, but a disconnect arises by their internal choices about which metrics to emphasize in public communication and in decision-making—choices that seem to allow too much creative financial interpretation,
Thursday, July 31, 2025 Report this
Snevets
Thanks Donald Trumpf.
Friday, August 1, 2025 Report this
Boatyarddog
For Literally YEARS the Community that watches the Debacle Called P.O.O. has said "DIVERSIFY" cargo... STOP Giving Handouts to Wayerhauser and Sweetheart deals! The Excuses are Many for this NOT happening over the Years. I Don't think its so much Drumpf, but Bad Planning and Overspending On NON needed Expenditures like Office buildings and Warehouses. The Port needs to tighten up its budgets and get to the real work.
. CLEANING UP THE DAMAGE done to our Enviroment.
Friday, August 1, 2025 Report this
BobJacobs
I'm sorry to see the JOLT become a shill for the Port of Olympia and especially for the Marine Terminal.
The Marine Terminal has lost money every year for decades. Not for lack of trying. Rather, Olympia is an extremely bad location for a marine shipping facility.
Nobody would locate a new shipping terminal in a location like this. And we local taxpayers should not keep this dinosaur on life support. Shut it down. We should not be providing corporate welfare to the likes of Weyerhaeuser.
Bob Jacobs
Monday, August 4, 2025 Report this