Port of Oakland Sets Record for Volume
Officials with the Port of Oakland, California, announced Jan. 13 that the port set a record in 2014 for handling of freight containers, thanks to a 20% surge in December.
Port officials said Oakland handled the equivalent of 2.394 million 20-foot freight containers, breaking the record of 2.391 million set in 2006.
“An unprecedented series of events has brought us to this point,” Port Maritime Director John Driscoll said. “It’s our job now to efficiently manage the growth.”
The cargo surge was attributed to stronger U.S. demand for Asian-manufactured goods and cargo diversions from congested Southern California ports.
A freight backlog at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has rerouted thousands of containers to Oakland. In December, Oakland handled 74,356 loaded import containers, its most since May 2014.
Bloomberg News reported Jan. 13 that a port slowdown and eight months of fruitless labor talks with longshoremen have brought West Coast port congestion to the point of a breakdown, according to representatives of shipping companies.
Congestion in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, has slowed the movement of goods from overseas to stores and factories in the United States. The delays are mostly due to a shortage of truck chassis to unload shipping containers.
Port of Oakland officials say 10 to 15 ships are anchored in San Francisco Bay daily awaiting berths at Oakland marine terminals and that some truckers report waits of several hours to pick up cargo.
Overall container volume, imports and exports, increased 2% in 2014, Oakland officials said. Import volume for the year increased 5.29%.
