The Port of Oakland is reporting that its January container volume continued to increase--a trend that was first seen in 2023.
In January, full imports increased 8.2 percent with the seaport handling 72,081 TEUs (twenty-foot containers) in January 2024 versus 66,637 TEUs in January 2023. Meanwhile, full exports saw an increase of 9.3 percent with 62,596 TEUs transiting the seaport in January 2024, compared to 57,279 TEUs in January 2023.
Empty imports declined 1.1 percent, with 17,117 TEUs passing through Port facilities in January 2024, in contrast to 17,299 TEUs in January 2023. Empty exports also dropped 24.5 percent, with the Seaport handling 28,694 TEUs in January 2024, compared to 38,014 TEUs in January 2023.
In 2023 overall, an estimated 15-20 percent of the volume in TEUs (20-foot containers) were commodities for consumption. On exports for the same year, an estimated 50-55 percent of the volume in TEUs were commodities for consumption.
Commodities involved
In fresh produce imports, this included bananas, pineapples, citruses, peaches, pears, cherries, apricots, strawberries, sweet corn, asparagus and pears. In fresh produce exports, it included nuts, citruses and grapes.
"Imports benefited from strong consumer demand, as well as the normal seasonal uptick each January before factories in Asia closed for the Lunar New Year. There is always a predictable uptick in imports before the Lunar New Year but there were increases in volumes significant enough to report a trend or market change," said Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. "The increase in export volume can be partially attributed to consumer demand in Asia remaining high for U.S. agricultural exports."
That said, even though there was an increase in volume for December 2023 and January 2024, Brandes says the expectation is that 2024 will be similar to 2023 in overall volume. "We also continue to maintain our market share lead on refrigerated cargo despite an overall industry slowdown reported on all major U.S. ports," he adds.
For more information:
David DeWitt
Port of Oakland
Tel.: +1 (510) 627-1169
ddewitt@portoakland.com
https://www.portofoakland.com/