Early-2015 decline erased in September Oakland, Calif. - Containerized import volume was up for a seventh-straight month at the Port of Oakland in September. The Port said today that it handled 1.6 percent more containerized imports last month than it did a year ago. The import rally has erased a wintertime decline in Oakland. The Port said import totals for the first nine months of 2015 are now even with last year. That’s a significant turnaround from January and February when import volume dropped nearly 40 percent. “We’re pleased with the ongoing buildup of import cargo,” said Maritime Director John Driscoll. “Our job now is to maintain the momentum.” Overall containerized cargo volume – imports, exports and empty containers – declined 4.8 percent in September, the Port said. A 12.6 percent drop in exports contributed to the decrease. The Port said two factors dampened export volume: Continued strength in the U.S. dollar which makes American goods more expensive overseas; and The economic slowdown in China which has curbed its demand for foreign commodities.
YEAR FULL IMPORT FULL EXPORT EMPTY IMPORT EMPTY EXPORT Grand Total Trend*
1990 253864 600595 218366 51298 1124123 0.031
1991 286696 630557 228789 48676 1194718 0.063
1992 354490 656674 205737 74593 1291494 0.081
1993 365114 667879 202866 69275 1305134 0.011
1994 403845 764237 249625 73295 1491002 0.142
1995 404842 809894 266506 68644 1549886 0.039
1996 360717 782913 283314 71258 1498202 -0.033
1997 398157 769172 288304 75555 1531188 0.022
1998 458470 747064 237176 132696 1575406 0.029
1999 469226 789873 234121 170536 1663756 0.056
2000 503858 818521 244359 210184 1776922 0.068
2001 486389 758958 223894 174344 1643585 -0.075
2002 547230 732537 206418 221642 1707827 0.039
2003 599411 799547 206267 317879 1923104 0.126
2004 694314 813716 184863 354611 2047504 0.065
2005 836258 846579 197988 393165 2273990 0.111
2006 877778 840145 192455 481367 2391745 0.052
2007 870284 909633 204943 403051 2387911 -0.002
2008 796404 910700 192569 333860 2233533 -0.065
2009 701501 966882 209258 167570 2045211 -0.084
2010 802657 955579 209878 362343 2330457 0.139
2011 797272 993826 264471 286957 2342526 0.005
2012 791672 986452 271068 294711 2343903 0.001
2013 803314 1014796 270535 257919 2346564 0.001
2014 845810 969378 254636 324245 2394069 0.02
* Denotes change versus same time period from previous year.