OAKLAND: The Port of Oakland is busier than it has been in a decade. July marked the busiest month in 10 years at the Port, which handled the equivalent of 223,619 20-foot cargo containers — the most since it 227,996 20-foot containers were processed in August 2006. Total container volume was up 8.8 percent from July 2015, and export volume increased for the sixth time in the last seven months. The growth has strengthened Oakland’s position as a major gateway to Asia, the port said.
With cargo volume up, the port is also expecting a strong season ahead as holiday cargo begins to ship. “The numbers are encouraging and with holiday shipments set to commence, this could be the start of something good,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll in a statement. The port’s total cargo volume increased 6.4 percent in the first seven months of 2016. Exports have gone up 9.1 percent in that time frame, and imports are up 8.6 percent.
The news comes after the Port of Oakland’s largest terminal operator announced its plan to keep its gates open at night, following a three-month pilot program to provide relief to truckers stuck in long queues to pick up or drop off cargo and containers. The port’s ability to move cargo efficiently is important for it to remain competitive, experts say. Oakland’s port supports more than 73,000 jobs in the region and an estimated 827,000 across the country, and it is the primary location for exports on the West Coast. The port has also opened a new rail yard and plans to build a new cold storage facility and additional warehousing space that will improve its ability to move cargo.
Oakland is also seeing a lot more activity at its airport. Passenger traffic at Oakland International Airport reached a six-year high in June, with 1.1 million travelers having passed through its terminals that month — the most passengers in a single month since March 2008.
