Balanced cargo streams in Oakland
July turned out to be a good month for the Port of Oakland close to San Francisco (USA). Containerised import shipments jumped 6.4% in July compared to 2019 totals.
The step up followed a 1.9% increase in June. The good news was tempered by a 6.4% decline in July export volume compared to the same month in the previous year.
Oakland export volume has now dropped in three consecutive months. The port attributed import gains to shippers resupplying warehouses after retrenching during early stages of the global coronavirus pandemic. Before, there were four straight months of declines between February and June.
Port of Oakland maritime director Bryan Brandes commented: “We’re not doing any victory celebrations because the trade outlook remains unclear as long as the pandemic is with us.” (mw)