Isreal's Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd, has told Port of Portland that its containerships would no longer call at the harbour six miles up the Columbia River from the sea.

Port executives said they had hoped Zim's entry into Oregon last May would lead to a resurgence in container volumes, reported the Portland Oregonian. Import and export metal boxes had increased employment for longshoremen, trucker and others.

The port had languished with only two container lines, Hanjin Shipping and Hapag Lloyd, for all of 2005. Two carriers pulled out late in 2004 and container volumes plummeted.

But Zim and Taiwan's Yang Ming Transport Corp began calling in Portland in 2006. Container volumes have risen more than 40 per cent this year.