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Port of Oakland saw its container volumes decrease by 11.6% to 2,065,709 TEUs with full containers declining by 10.1% to 1,574,444 TEUs in 2023.

“2023 finished strong,” pointed out Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes, adding, “Carrier on-time performance has improved importer confidence and provided valuable vessel space for our agriculture exporters to move their products from Oakland.”

The Californian port’s full import and export container volumes rose in December 2023, showing signs that cargo volume at Oakland is returning. Full imports rose 16.4% to 76,347 TEUs and full exports climbed 12.9% to 65,801 TEUs.

“We anticipate a continued rebound in 2024 as we move on with our plans in modernizing the port and reducing emissions from our maritime operations,” said Brandes.

According to the port’s statement, US West Coast ports are seeing an increase in container activity due to shippers rerouting cargo originally destined to go through the Panama Canal, as the drought in Panama is limiting vessel traffic to US Gulf and East Coast ports through the canal.

Source: Container News

The Port of Oakland reported a 6.8% drop in its container volumes in November, handling 132,648 TEUs.

Full imports rose 3.8% year-on-year, with 71,258 TEUs passing through Oakland port facilities this November. On the other hand, full exports declined by 3% to 61,390 TEUs. At the same time, empty imports experienced a drop of 0.6%, with 14,118 TEUs, while empty exports experienced a significant 49% decrease, with 19,613 TEUs moving through the US port.

“We saw some canceled sailings in November as evidenced by the dip in vessel calls last month,” stated Port of Oakland maritime director, Bryan Brandes. “This caused our volumes to drop.”

This year the Californian port did not see the usual spike in import cargo volumes during late summer and the fall.

“Consumers continue to spend, and our local economy is growing, so the lack of an upswing in cargo volume is likely because retailers are working through excess inventory,” commented Brandes.

He added, “Meanwhile, we’ve been investing and implementing projects that will improve the efficiency of our maritime operations. This puts us in an excellent position to handle more cargo.”

Source: Container News