The Port of Oakland has announced that their overall container volume decreased in June of this year compared to June of 2022.
Full TEU in June are 26.5 per cent lower than in June of previous year. In June 2023, marine terminal operators at the Port of Oakland transported 120,433 TEU, compared to 163,901 TEU in June 2022.
Full imports fell by 30.6 per cent, with terminal operators handling 66,295 TEU in June 2022, compared to 95,530 TEU in June 2022.
Importers are still sending goods to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports.
This was in reaction to the labour talks between the International Dockers and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) becoming shaky.
Now that an agreement has been struck, it is hoped that freight will return to US West Coast ports.
“Although cargo has begun to return to the West Coast, weak consumer demand and high inventory levels continue to be headwinds to volume recovery,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director, Bryan Brandes.
“However, operational improvements, the return to normalcy, and the settlement of labor contracts creates an opportunity for us to gain a greater market share of containerised cargo.”
Full exports experienced a 20.8 per cent decline, with 54,138 TEU transiting port facilities, in contrast to 68,371 TEU in June 2022.
Full export volume was also down 10.8 per cent in 2023 year-to-date (January through June 2023) compared to the same period in 2022.
READ: Port of Oakland volumes up for third consecutive month
Asian countries are receiving less recycling. However, agricultural exports from the US remain a consistent export product for Oakland.
Empty exports fell by 40.9 per cent in June 2023, with 23,879 TEU transiting through port facilities, compared to 40,408 TEU in June 2022.
While empty imports fell by 2.3 per cent, moving 11,516 TEU in June 2023, compared to 11,788 TEU in June 2022.
Ships are now staying an average of 24-48 hours in port, which is equal to the pre-pandemic average stay at Oakland.
The return to smoother running maritime operations creates more efficiency for the recovery of Oakland’s container volume.
In April 2023, the Port of Oakland handled the equivalent of 174,482 TEU.
