The number of empty containers
that shipped out from the Port of Oakland last month was up by double digits compared
with the same month last year, but the sharp increase still wasn’t enough to counter
a slight overall decline in volume for the month.
Oakland moved a grand total
of 20,127 TEUs in April 2012, a 18.6 increase from the previous April, but the grand
total of TEUs that the port moved during the month was down 1.8 percent, to 188,085.
The decline was due to percentage
decreases in the number of full and empty containers imported through Oakland. The
number of full exports was 80,279, which was a decrease of 5.5 percent compared
with April 2011. Meanwhile, full imports fell to 63,390, a drop of 3.2 percent,
according to recently released port data.
Other than the leap in empty
containers exported, the only other category where Oakland saw a gain last month
compared with April 2011 was empty imports. A total of 24,289 unfilled TEUs were
brought into the port last month, a year-to-year rise of 0.5 percent.
Last month however, was
the first one during this calendar year that the port saw declines in the volume
of both imported and exported full containers. During the first four months of 2012,
Oakland saw a 0.6 percent gain in full imports and a 1.8 percent rise in full exports
compared with the same period last year. For the year to date, the port has seen
flat volume growth, 0.2 percent, compared to the same four-month period in 2011,
according to the data.
