OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The Port of Oakland announced on Tuesday that they have no backlog on docks as other ports face high congestion.
Port officials said shipping lines can route more cargo to Oakland and urged restoring service that avoided Oakland since the summer.
“There’s no congestion at the Oakland seaport, and we’re ready for more business,” declared Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. “We need ocean carriers to reinstate services in order to stabilize the supply chain, and our import and export partners echo this sentiment.”
According to the Port, containerized cargo volume is up 4.2% this year but has room to receive more — This while ports in Southern California have up to 70 ships waiting at anchor daily.
Vessel backlogs have not occurred in Oakland since August and the Port insists on receiving cargo as the country struggles to restore supply chain gridlock.
Some ports were called on by the White House to open on weekends and nights.
The Port said that ‘several ocean carriers omitted Oakland in recent months’ and that ‘excessive Southern California delays necessitated immediate return of some ships to Asia without stopping in Oakland.’
Only 54 vessels stopped in Oakland during the month of September, according to the Port, which is the lowest total since 2015 — For that month, import volume decreased 13% from last month and exports were down 18%.
By November, the Port expects to have service restored and says that import cargo could be pick-up within days from the ships, which hasn’t been the case at other ports in weeks.
“We should see vessel calls and cargo volume recover in October and November,” said Mr. Brandes. “We have capacity in Oakland that needs to be put to use to help shore up the supply chain and support our economy.”
