Oakland Monthly Cargo Volumes Rise 38 Percent

By Mark Edward Nero

Total cargo volume – imports, exports and empty containers – rose 38.46 percent at the Port of Oakland in January 2016 compared to the same month last year, the port said Feb. 10.

The gains were propelled by containerized import volumes, which soared 75.76 percent last month from January 2015 totals, according to port data. Also, export volume jumped 16.83 percent in January from a year ago, the port said. It was the first increase in Oakland export volume since July 2015.

Oakland said it handled the equivalent of 77,637 twenty-foot import containers in January. That was the most since last August, the traditional start of peak shipping season.

The port offered two explanations for the double-digit cargo volume increases, one being that US importers were stocking shelves ahead of Lunar New Year factory shutdowns in Asia.

The other reason given was that Oakland volumes were deflated in January 2015 when West Coast ports were stymied by a protracted waterfront labor dispute that in part caused a decrease on productivity on the docks and led to shippers diverting cargo elsewhere.

Since a new waterfront labor contract was signed last spring, shippers have been re-establishing western supply routes.

“An increase in cargo volume is always welcome,” John Driscoll, the port’s maritime director, said. “But what this really shows is that we have recaptured the cargo that moved temporarily away from the West Coast a year ago.”

More information on Oakland’s monthly cargo statistics is available at http://www.portofoakland.com/maritime/containerstats.aspx.

Oakland Port Has Busiest Month Since 2011

By Mark Edward Nero

May 2015 was the busiest month in nearly four years at the Port of Oakland, according to newly released data. The port revealed June 15 that it handled 213,260 cargo containers last month, the most since it reported volume of 216,276 containers in August 2011.

The total volume of import, export and empty containers was up 3.8 percent last month from May 2014, according to the data, making it the third straight month of year-over-year volume increases reported in Oakland.

“We’re seeing steady improvement – especially in import cargo,” said the port’s Maritime Director, John Driscoll. “Our job now is to accelerate the momentum.”

Loaded import container volume increased 4.5 percent in May from the same period a year ago, according to port data. Shipments of empty containers, which were heading back to their origins in Asia, were up 20 percent. The empty repositioning, according to Oakland, indicates that ports are still rebalancing containers dislocated by wintertime trade slowdowns.

Despite the gains, however, the overall export volume declined 5.6 percent in May, the port said, with the decrease being attributed to a strong dollar which makes U.S. exports more expensive. Nevertheless, export volume of 79,890 containers was the most in Oakland since last October.

Monthly cargo statistics are available at the Port of Oakland’s website: www.portofoakland.com.

POLA Has 2nd Busiest Cargo Month in History

By Mark Edward Nero

Port of Los Angeles container terminals handled a total of 791,863 TEUs last month, making it the second-highest month in the port’s history, according to newly-released data.

The busiest single month remains October 2006, when the port moved 800,063 TEUs.

Containerized cargo volumes at the port increased 17.3 percent in March 2015 compared to the same period last year, according the data, which was released by the port April 16.

March was the first full month of cargo movement since the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore & Warehouse Union announced a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract. In the months before the agreement, productivity had slid significantly, with each side blaming the other for it.

Imports increased 31.5 percent last month, rising from 327,497 TEUs in March 2014 to 430,898 TEUs in March 2015. However, exports declined 22.5 percent, falling from 187,826 TEUs in March 2014 to 145,536 TEUs last month. Combined, total loaded imports and exports increased 11.86 percent, from 515,323 TEUs in March 2014 to 576,434 TEUs in March 2015. Factoring in empties, which increased 34.7 percent, overall volumes improved 17.3 percent last month.

“March container volumes were robust as our terminals worked aggressively to clear out the backlog of vessels,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “The number of ships waiting at anchor has reduced significantly, labor levels are strong and our container terminals are extremely active. We continue to work on a series of initiatives to improve efficiencies throughout the supply chain.”

Next week, the Port of LA is expected to co-host a stakeholders meeting with the Port of Long Beach to discuss solutions to improve and strengthen the San Pedro Bay supply chain.

For the first three months of 2015, overall volumes – a total of 1.82 million TEUs – have decreased five percent compared to the same period in 2014.

Current and past data container counts for the Port of Los Angeles may be found at: http://www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp.

Oakland Port Has Busiest Traffic Month in a Year

By Mark Edward Nero

September 2014 was the busiest month at the Port of Oakland in more than a year, according to data released in late October.

The port, which is the third largest in California, said Oct. 23 that it handled 207,412 TEUs at its marine terminals last month, which was the most since August 2013, when 209,138 TEUs were moved.

Imports traversing the port’s marine terminals were up 7.1 percent in September to 72,284 TEUs compared to a year ago, with the port attributing the rise to the tail end of the peak shipping season in September and October, when retailers finalize holiday merchandise orders.

The port also said that although the total September cargo volume increased 2.87 percent from the same period in 2013, the number of full exports dipped 7.27 percent compared to 2013. Full exports have been weak at the port all year.

For the calendar year to date, Oakland’s terminals moved nearly 1.8 million containers during the nine months of 2014, a modest 1.6 percent jump over the same period last year, according to port data.

Also, unlike some other major seaports, the Port of Oakland reported no chassis shortages in September. A shortage of the skeleton trailers, which are used to haul containers on the road, has been reported at numerous other US West Coast ports, most significantly those in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.

POLB Has Best Cargo Month in 7 Years

By Mark Edward Nero

Cargo container volume rose eight percent at the Port of Long Beach last month, compared to the same month last year, according to newly-released data.

With more than 610,000 TEUs moved, the port says that last month was its busiest June since 2007, which happened to be the busiest year ever for container cargo at Long Beach.

POLB terminals handled a total of 610,516 TEUs in June 2014, including 316,054 TEUs of imports, which represents an 8.8 percent increase over June 2013. Also, exports were up 4.7 percent to 140,034 TEUs last month, and empty containers rose 9.3 percent to 154,428 TEUs. In all, June was the third consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in container volume. Long Beach has seen an increase of 2.5 percent for the first six months of 2014 compared to the same time last year, according to data.

For the fiscal year to date, POLB terminals have moved just over five million TEUs, a 3.4 percent increase over the 4.8 million TEUs shipped during the corresponding time last year. Long Beach’s fiscal year began in October 2013 and runs through Sept. 30.

The latest monthly cargo numbers at the Port of Long Beach, as well as other TEU data, can be found at http://www.polb.com/economics/stats/default.asp.

POLB Monthly Cargo Volumes Surge

By Mark Edward Nero

Overall cargo numbers for containers at the Port of Long Beach were up 9.7 percent in April 2014 compared to the same month last year, according to newly-released data.

Following a slow March, which the port attributes in part to the harsh winter in other parts of the country, April container volumes rebounded as weather and shopping patterns returned to normal.

A total of 569,843 TEUs moved through Port of Long Beach container terminals in April. The total number of TEU imports was 295,712, an increase of 11.9 percent from April 2013, while exports jumped 6.3 percent to 146,498 TEUs over the same period. Also, empty containers were up 8.8 percent to 127,633 TEUs.

Following a weak first quarter at the POLB, overall volume for the first four months of 2014 is up just one percent compared to the same period last year. For the fiscal year, which began in October, total volumes are up 2.8 percent compared to the same seven months in FY 2013.

Last year, against which 2014 is being compared, was the third-busiest year in port history with a total of 6.73 million TEUs.

Additional details on Long Beach’s latest monthly cargo numbers can be found at http://www.polb.com/economics/stats/latest_teus.asp. More details on all cargo numbers are available at www.polb.com/stats.

Port of Hueneme Has Best-Ever Fiscal Year

Despite concerns in recent months about reduced productivity related to federal sequestration, the Port of Hueneme’s 2012-2013 fiscal year turned out to be its best ever for cargo movement.

The total tonnage for the recently ended FY 2012-2013 jumped to about 1.4 million metric tons, representing a 9.2 percent jump over FY 2011-2012, and a 2.8 percent increase over the port’s previous record of 1.39 million metric tons, set in FY 2005-2006.

The port attributes its growth in freight activity in the niche markets of automobiles, high and heavy cargo, fresh produce, fertilizer, and domestic commodities like fish and petroleum products.

Automobile imports rose over 12 percent over the previous fiscal year, while exports were steady at a 1.2 percent growth. A portion of this increase is attributed to additional imports from Hyundai and Kia. A large fraction of the export increase, according to the port, was driven by more foreign manufacturers, specifically Honda and Toyota, operating from new facilities within the United States and sending their autos to the Asian market.

Shallow draft cargo -- fish, lube oil, and vessel fuel -- increased 6.6 percent for the year, according to port data, while offshore domestic oil trade saw a 1.1 percent decrease.

The port’s most recent fiscal year ended June 30, 2013. Back in March, due to federal sequestration, US Customs and Border Protection inspections were cut back by one day a week at Hueneme, leading to complaints by port officials, vessel operators and others.

The cutbacks, however, have not led to lengthy, sustained cargo backlogs.

 

Port of Seattle Monthly Traffic Still Falling

Containerized traffic at the Port of Seattle fell 0.8 percent last month compared with November 2010, according to newly released data. This makes the seventh straight month that traffic was down compared to the same month the year prior.

From May through September of this year, total traffic dropped by double digits each month compared with the same month the year before, before a dip of just 6.6 percent in October.

Relatively speaking, a 0.8 percent drop last month at the port could be seen as good news compared with most of the year. A total of 170,104 TEUs moved through the port in November, compared to 171,546 in 2010.

Imports rose 2.1 percent year-to-year last month, but it wasn’t enough to offset a downward trend for the year, as for the year-to-date, imports are down 8.8 percent compared with the same 11 months in 2010.

For the year to date, Seattle has seen 1.87 million containers so far; in 2010, 1.98 million containers traveled through the port during the first 11 months of the year.

The 1.8 percent year-to-year decrease is mainly due to a drop in exports, which fell 6.1 percent compared to November 2010 and have fallen 5.5 percent overall compared with the same 11 months last year.

By comparison, a total of 1.36 million cargo containers moved through Washington state’s second largest seaport, the Port of Tacoma, through the first 11 months of 2011. The number represented a 3.2 percent increase over the 1.32 million that passed through Tacoma docks during the same period last year.

Port of Long Beach Container Volume Dips Again

A troubling trend continued for the Port of Long Beach last month as it saw double-digit decreases in both the number of loaded and empty TEUs in November compared with the same time last year.

The biggest drop was in loaded outbound containers, which fell 22 percent compared with November 2010. According to port data, about 142,600 TEUS were moved in November of last year, but the number dropped to roughly 111,000 in November 2011.

Additionally, the number of loaded inbound containers fell 15 percent year-to-year, going from 274,400 in 2010 to 231,700. The number of empty TEUs transported fell by more than 17 percent, to 459,800 from 558,300.
For the year-to-date, loaded outbound containers have dropped just under 22 percent at the POLB, and the number of loaded outbound and empty TEUS moving through the port have dipped about 18 percent each.

Long Beach has moved a total of 5.5 million containers during the first 11 months of 2011, a drop of 3.3 percent compared with last year. By comparison, the adjoining Port of Los Angeles reported moving 7.2 million containers so far during the calendar year, an increase of about one percent compared with 2010.

Long Beach’s dip in cargo movement is partially due to the loss of tenant Hyundai Merchant Marine, which moved to the Port of LA in 2010.

Year-to-Date Cargo Stats Rise at Port of Tacoma

A total of 1.36 million cargo containers moved through the Port of Tacoma through the first 11 months of 2011, a 3.2 percent increase over the 1.32 million that passed through the docks during the same period last year.

Represented in that 1.36 million is a six percent increase in the number of foreign containers moved. There were more than 934,800 during the time period, compared to about 881,400 through the first 11 months of 2010, according to port data.

Full import containers were up just one percent during the time period, however, and the number of domestic containers took a dip, falling to 432, 200 this year from 443,700 during the same period last year.

Also according to port data, Tacoma handled nearly 16 million tons of cargo from January through November of this year, a six percent increase over January through November of 2010.

The port’s leading export commodity, based on tonnage, is grain. And for the 11-month period that ended in November, more than five million tons were exported through Tacoma, according to the data.

Other year-to-date cargo highlights include a 36 percent increase of auto imports, reflecting strong new auto sales in the US; a 71 percent increase in break bulk tonnage, which the port says is driven by agricultural, industrial and construction machinery exports; and a 69 percent jump in log exports.