Port of Oakland expects record cargo volumes for 2017

Multiple factors could make Oakland a first port of call for containerships visiting the United States from Asia in the future, according to Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll.    Record cargo volumes are expected at the Port of Oakland by the end of 2017 due to improved infrastructure coupled with new supply chain capabilities, a senior port official said recently.
   These things could also make Oakland a first port of call for containerships visiting the U.S. from Asia, according to Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll.
   During comments made to a gathering of supply chain executives during the first week of December, Driscoll said construction projects currently underway would attract additional containerized cargo to Oakland beginning in 2018. He also predicted all-time highs in Oakland cargo volumes annually through 2022.
   “I’m forecasting growth because of the development that’s going on here,” Driscoll told a gathering of 50 trade and transportation leaders. “It won’t be dramatic – it will be steady – but it will result in more cargo volume than we’ve ever had before.”
   The comments came before an audience of supply chain officials that meets three times a year to review the Port of Oakland’s operating performance.
   Three international shipping lines are currently considering Oakland for first calls due to recent port improvements, Driscoll said. If any of the shipping lines make the move, Oakland import volumes could increase since the first port of call is where ships discharge most U.S. imports.
   The projects are drawing the most interest from shipping lines, Driscoll said, including the raising of four ship-to-shore cranes by 27 feet at Oakland International Container Terminal. Higher cranes are expected to be better equipped to load and unload megaships in Oakland.
   Work on the second of four cranes should conclude by year-end, while completion of the entire $14 million to $20 million project is expected in mid-2018.
   Also attracting shippers’ attention, Driscoll said, is Cool Port Oakland, a project that is expected to process beef and poultry exports in a 280,000-square-foot temperature-controlled facility when it opens in the third quarter of 2018.
   The $90 million refrigerated distribution center expects to handle the equivalent of 27,000 20-foot containers full of meat annually.
   Also in the works is the Seaport Logistics Complex, a $52 million, 440,000-square-foot distribution center designed for the rapid transfer of cargo between ships, trucks and trains. Construction is expected to begin in late 2018.
   Additionally, negotiations are ongoing for the construction of an 8-acre facility for harbor truck drivers that would include food stops, fueling stations and overnight parking. No timetable for construction has been established yet.