The Northern California seaport handled the equivalent of 212,692 TEUs of containerized cargo last month, its most since August 2016.
Container volume reportedly rose at the Port of Oakland last month despite the number of vessels visiting falling 12.7 percent.
August 2017 was the busiest month at the Port of Oakland for containerized cargo since the same month last year, according to newly released data.
The port said Sept. 12 it handled the equivalent of 212,692 TEUs last month, the most since August 2016 when the port handled 220,604 TEUs.
Of those 212,692 TEUs, the vast majority were full imports and exports at 77,987 TEUs and 77,055 TEUs, respectively, according to port data. Empty exports stood at 36,203 TEUs, and the remainder, empty imports, totaled 21,447 TEUs.
August is the middle of container shipping’s peak season, when containerized imports typically rise as U.S. retailer stock up for back-to-school and holiday sales.
Through the first eight months of the year, Oakland’s total container volume – including imports, exports and empty containers – increased 1.7 percent, with a 3.2 percent jump in loaded import cargo volume leading the way, the Port of Oakland said.
But despite the gains in cargo throughput, the number of vessels visiting Oakland in August fell 12.7 percent compared to the prior year. That, according to the port, is due to shipping lines transporting more cargo on fewer, but larger ships.