RATHER than battling it out, the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma will share information as a first step towards collaboration since container traffic declines hit Puget Sound.
Along the west coast, US ports face difficulties in the brave new world of mega-alliances the need to deal with and appeal to single giant customers as shipping lines consolidate.
One port "can be whipsawed by the another", said American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).
British Columbia's Port of Prince Rupert challenge to US west coast ports is palpable as it takes a share of transpacific intermodal trade. A more obvious threat is the completion of a wider Panama Canal, said DC Velocity of North Attleboro, Massachusetts.
The ports of Seattle and Tacoma wanting to share information is indicative of the challenges for ports "in the face of continued soft demand and increased competition", said DC Velocity.
Ports can benefit from joint strengths of a deep harbour and channel that require no dredging. Together the ports boast strong rail and road connections, and the west coast's second-largest cluster of warehouses and distribution centres.
The growing merger of liner alliances is forecast to force ports and terminal operators to handle more single-customer volumes, said Drewry Maritime Research, adding that these would have strong pricing-power.
The bigger story for 2014 and 2015 for US ports is how vessel rotations by consolidated giants of the P3 Alliance and the G6 Alliance will play out, said IMS Worldwide consultancy, president and CEO Curtis Spencer.
Mr Spencer believes that a port's success will primarily be down to infrastructure for road and rail access rather than secondary concerns of channel and harbour depth issues.
Immediate steps could be taken for the two ports to coordinate berthing windows or integrate rail intermodal services rather than waiting on regulatory approval. Terminal operators and the railways will need to consent to these changes.
Even fierce rivals like LA and Long Beach collaborate on infrastructure, environmental, security, and regional planning issues such as a current project for a freight-only lane for trucks on an 18-mile portion of the I-710 freeway between the two facilities.