Head east.

BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO

West Coast ports continue to lose market share to rivals in the East

The news just gets worse for West Coast ports. While they continue to hold a dominant share of the crucial import trade from Northeast Asia, ports from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest extended their losing streak in the first quarter of 2008.

According to PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions, a sister company of Florida Shipper, the West Coast market share of containerized imports from Northeast Asia stood at 72.4 percent in the first quarter, down from 74.9 percent a year earlier.

Conversely, East Coast ports increased their market share to 25.7 percent from 23.4 percent in the first quarter of 2007. Gulf Coast ports, primarily Houston, also gained market share. The Gulf Coast accounted for 1.8 percent of imports from Northeast Asia, up from 1.5 percent in the first quarter of 2007.

In another notable development, Maersk Line, the world's largest container line, experienced a huge drop in cargo volume in the trans-Pacific. Maersk's container volume on the West Coast …