Friday, April 22, 2011

Oakland Port Posts 5.9 Percent Growth in March

A surge in exports bolstered the Port of Oakland cargo volume numbers in March, and despite a decline in imports, the port still handled more containers during the month than in either January or February.

Port officials reported handling a total of 197,991 TEUs in March, a 5.9 percent increase over March 2010. The monthly numbers were 8.1 percent higher than the total reported in January of this year and 11.3 percent higher than the total handled in February.

In the import column, the port handled a total of 58,040 loaded inbound TEUs in March, a 4 percent drop off compared to the year-ago period. Compared to the two previous months of this year, imports in March fell slightly below the total import volumes reported in both January and February.

On the export side of the ledger, the port handled a total of 90,159 loaded outbound TEUs in March, a roughly 16.5 percent increase over either January or February and a 11.1 percent increase over March of last year.

For the first three months of the year, the port remains in the positive for total containers handled, up 11.2 for the calendar year compared to the January to March period in 2010.