?K? Line returns to Portland

ôKö Line returns to Portland Japanese ocean carrier 'K' Line has resumed calling at the Port of Portland after a nearly four-year hiatus.
   The Oregon port call was dropped by 'K' Line in December 2004 after the Tokyo-based carrier added Shanghai to its NOWCO-A route, which required dropping a West Coast port to save time. Officials from the carrier said at the time that they might return.
   'K' Line officials made good on their word Wednesday, when the carrier's Guangdong Bridge arrived at Portland's T-6 facility. The return of 'K' Line has also provided local agricultural product exporters with the first Japanese connection from Portland in nearly four years.
   Since the carrier's departure, local agricultural exporters have been forced to truck their goods to Seattle or Tacoma, adding transportation costs just to get the goods to a vessel. Japan is one of the leading markets for Portland agricultural exporters that said 'K' Line's departure hurt their market share in the Japanese market.
   The return of Portland to the NOWCO-A route, which also calls at Tacoma and the Canadian Port of Vancouver, comes just weeks after Yang Ming left Portland, depriving the area of a direct connection to Taiwan.
   The two route changes are part of a shift within the CKYH Alliance, which includes COSCO and Hanjin with 'K' Line and Yang Ming.