Oakland volumes boosted by imports, return of empty containers

The Northern California port blamed a decline in exports on a stronger dollar.    The Port of Oakland said containerized cargo volume was up for the second straight month at its terminals in April. The port said its total throughput for imports, exports and empty containers was 201,129 TEUs, 1.7 percent more than in April 2014.
   Imports of loaded containers reached 74,843 TEUs, up 3.1 percent, while exports of loaded export containers were 73,374 TEUs, down 12.9 percent year-over-year. Imports of empty containers were 15,958 TEUs, down 19.8 percent while exports of empties were 36,954 TEUs, up 75.6 percent.
   Oakland attributed the decline in export loads to the continued strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes American goods more expensive overseas