Oakland’s busiest marine terminal makes night gates permanent

The Oakland International Container Terminal decided to make night gates permanent, financed through a $30 fee on all loaded import and export containers through the port.    The Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT), which handles 70 percent of the Port of Oakland’s containerized cargo, decided to make extended gate hours permanent, the port said Tuesday.
   The terminal launched a three-month trial June 27, which showed that night gates take pressure off busier daytime operations, easing crowding during the day and allowing cargo to move faster, the Port of Oakland said.
   Congestion has been a problem at the Port of Oakland and worsened after Ports America and Terminal Investment Ltd. ended operations at the Outer Harbor Terminal earlier this year. Edward DeNike, chief operating officer at SSA Marine, which operates OICT, said cargo volumes at OICT surged after operations ended at the Outer Harbor Terminal.
   About 6,000 trucks pass through OICT’s gates daily, making it one of the busiest terminals in the U.S., the port said.
   The night gates have resulted in 1,300 daily container transactions migrating from day to evening. In addition, the average transaction time for truck drivers fell from 96 minutes in August to 79 minutes last week and 30 percent of trucking companies at the port have reduced congestion surcharges assessed to customers for picking up containers.
   Night gates at the terminal are open from 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Monday-Thursday for truck drivers to haul cargo.
   The terminal will continue to charge a $30 fee on all loaded import and export containers through the port to finance night gates.
   “The decision makes Oakland one of the few U.S. ports open late for container pick-up or delivery,” the port said.
   TraPac’s terminal at the Port of Oakland is also testing night gates, but the port said there is no word whether TraPac will institute regular night hours.