By Karen Robes Meeks
Port of Oakland handled 87,207 imported TEUs last month, a record-breaking month for the Northern California port that topped last July’s record of 84,835 containers, according to latest numbers.
Imports rose 8.7 percent last month compared to June 2017, which the port credits to a strong peak season and a stronger push by importers to move goods ahead of tariffs being enacted this month by U.S. and China.
“Retailers have been forecasting a good peak season for containerized imports, so June’s numbers weren’t surprising,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “But there’s uncertainty over the international trade picture, so we’re taking a wait-and-see approach.”
While it’s too early to forecast the impact of these latest tariff increases, the port says that if they had been imposed last year, about $225 million of China imports would have been affected.
