Oakland Quiets Panama Canal Fears with Best July in Decade

Port of Oakland This July was busiest for the Port of Oakland in last ten years. The port handled 223,619 TEUs, the most since it lifted 227,996 TEUs in 2006. The ports total container volume jumped 8.8 percent from July of 2015. The numbers are encouraging and with holiday shipments set to commence, this could be the start of something good, John Driscoll, Port of Oaklands Maritime Director, said. According to the port authority, export volume, up 3.6 percent, increased for the sixth time in seven months. In addition, empty container volume rose as shipping lines repositioned boxes to prepare for an anticipated uptick in peak-season cargo. During the month of July, the Port of Oakland received 153 visits from containerships. That was up from 136 vessel calls during the same month a year ago. These numbers may quiet speculation that a newly widened Panama Canal threatens West Coast port volume, the port authority said as the waterways opening coincided with Oaklands cargo surge. In the period between January and June this year, the ports container throughput increased by six percent when the ports terminals handled 1,152,608 TEUs, compared to 1,087,417 TEUs in the first half of 2015.