Port of Oakland Reports October Exports Highest Since 2013
The Port of Oakland reached a three-year high for exports in October, port officials announced in the monthly results released Nov. 7.
Exports at the California port increased 20% to 89,743 industry-standard 20-foot-equalivalent container units, or TEUs, which was the fourth-largest monthly total ever.
From January through the end of October, exports were up 10% versus the same 10-months period in 2015, and in six of those months, the port experienced double-digit year-over-year gains. Exports account for more than half the traffic at the port, which is the seventh largest in the U.S. by volume.
“Increased export volume is nothing new – we’ve reported gains in nine of the first 10 months of the year,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “But the amount of volume growth highlights just how strong this rally is.”
He added that a softer U.S. dollar and healthy agricultural harvests helped drive export gains. Growers in California’s Central, Napa and Salinas valleys use the port to ship products to Asia.
The top four totals for containerized exports by month in Port of Oakland history, measured in twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, are:
• March, 2012: 91,613 TEUs
• Oct. 2013: 89,561 TEUs
• March 2011: 89,524 TEUs
• October 2016: 89,473 TEUs
Imported cargo increased 2% in October and overall loaded containers were up 11.4%.
