Port of Oakland volumes recede after record April

Steady loaded import container volumes in May were offset by an 8.3 percent drop in loaded exports.    Container cargo volumes at the Port of Oakland slipped 2.9 percent to 204,765 TEUs in May compared with the same month a year ago, according to the most recent data from the port.
   The May decline follows an April during which Oakland saw its volumes rise 3.3 percent year-over-year, thanks in large part to a record 75,369 TEUs of loaded imports.
   Loaded import volumes at the northern California port were steady at 82,465 TEUs in May, but loaded exports sank 8.3 percent to 72,045 TEUs compared with the same month last year.
   Throughput of empty containers climbed 0.6 percent to 50,255 TEUs, as an 11.8 percent increase in outbound empties was offset in large part by a 17.2 percent drop in inbound empties.
   Through the first five months of 2018, total container volumes at the the Port of Oakland were up 1.7 percent to 996,138 TEUs compared with the same 2017 period.