California Apparel News

After a year of continued cargo growth, the Port of Oakland saw a dip in volume last month. But there’s a good chance the reduction won’t last as the port said it is expecting containerized cargo volume growth to resume as the peak shipping season arrives.

Despite the dip in July business, the port reported that the year-to-date import volume is still up 16 percent and total volume in that same period is up 9 percent. Cargo volume declined 3.5 percent compared to last July, with containerized imports down 1.7 percent year-over-year, containerized exports down 4.7 percent year-over-year and July total volume, which includes imports, exports and empty-container repositioning, down 3.5 percent year-over-year.

The port believes the decline in July was due to record cargo volume over the first six months of 2021. Surging shipments also stacked up at the docks, which caused delivery delays and shipping lines to skip trips to Oakland.

Peak season is August through October—due to retailers bulking up their inventory for the holiday season—the port expects cargo volume to increase again, especially after introducing two new vessel services to Asia. The new vessels were put in place last month and are a key indicator that the port is a key global-trade gateway.

“Vessel berths and container yards were crowded, and some shipping lines bypassed Oakland,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. “We’re working through those issues and preparing for a busy peak season ahead.”