The Northern California port handled 193,341 TEUs in March 2018, a 2.9 percent decline from the same month a year ago, as loaded imports slumped 1.9 percent and exports dipped 0.5 percent.
The Port of Oakland saw its cargo volumes slip in March 2018, as imports fell due to factory shutdowns in Asia during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Container volumes at the Northern California port fell 2.9 percent to 193,341 TEUs compared with the previous March, according to the latest data from the port.
Throughput of loaded import containers dropped 1.9 percent year-over-year to 66,302 TEUs, while loaded exports were relatively steady, sliding 0.5 percent to 81,955 TEUs.
“Shipments traditionally slump as factories that produce many U.S.-bound goods temporarily shut down,” Port of Oakland said in a statement.
“Oakland exports remained virtually unchanged after three consecutive months of growth,” the port added. “China’s restrictions on recyclable commodities such as waste paper contributed to the export growth pause.”
Oakland also handled 45,084 TEUs of empty containers during March, an 8.1 percent decline from the same month a year ago, as outbound empties plummeted 13.8 percent to 24,984 TEUs and inbound empties remained flat at 20,100 TEUs.
Port officials in March released its “Growth with Care” five-year strategic plan for both the seaport and airport and in it estimated an 8 percent increase in containerized cargo in Oakland over the next five years. The Port of Oakland handled 2.4 million TEUs in 2017 and expects to be handling 2.6 million TEUs by 2020.
According to the plan, that cargo growth is predicated primarily on two capital projects at the seaport: a 283,000-square-foot refrigerated distribution center called Cool Port Oakland that is expected to open this summer and a second 440,000-square-foot distribution center planned for the nearby Seaport Logistics Complex.
The “Growth with Care” plan also calls for further reductions in diesel particulate emissions from trucks and port terminal equipment, as well as other objectives like convincing container carriers to begin using Oakland as the first port of call in the U.S., promoting new transload and refrigerated cargo capabilities, maximizing Oakland’s participation in newly permitted rice exports to China, recapturing lost volumes, and exploring bulk and breakbulk cargo opportunities.
Port of Oakland volumes slide following holiday
