Total container volumes at the Port of Oakland, California's third busiest container port, dropped off moderately in September from the previous month, giving some indication that August may have been the high water month for the port this year. The overall trend indicating that the peak of the 2011 season came early this year is being mirrored by other ports along the West Coast. While historical trends indicate that October often experiences a sizable gain over September, most indications are that the shipping season along the West Coast has already shifted into the typical post-holiday ramping-down period that extends through February of the following year.
The port handled a total of 200,236 TEUs in September, a 6.6 percent decline over September 2010 and a 7.5 percent drop off from total volumes experienced in August. This makes September the third busiest month of the year at the port, behind August and June.
On the import side, the port handled a total of 70,257 loaded inbound TEUs in September, a 5.1 percent decline over the year-ago period.
On the export side of the ledger, the port handled a total of 80,249 loaded outbound TEUs, a 0.7 percent increase over September last year.
For the calendar year-to-date, the port remains in positive territory, still up 1.3 percent over the first nine months of 2010 with a total of 1,754,973 TEUs moved.
