In 2025 the Port of Portland, Oregon handled 15.53 million metric tons (mt) of cargo, a vast majority of that freight was either bulk minerals at nearly 7.5 million mt or grain at almost 3.6 million mt. The Port also is a major auto handler posting a 2025 throughput of 329,639 vehicles. What the port is not, is a big handler of containers, handling 86,387 TEUs in 2025. But that may be changing, starting 2026.

According to a Port of Portland announcement, on January 7, 2026 the Oregon Container Terminal (OCT) was officially launched at the Port’s Terminal 6: “following a seamless transition from the Port of Portland to Harbor Industrial that sustains a competitive option for supply chains in Oregon, Southwest Washington and Idaho.”

OCT, Oregon’s only international container gateway, will be operated by Harbor Industrial Services under a long-term lease with the Port of Portland: “OCT offers direct vessel services, dual-rail connectivity via BSNF and Union Pacific and future barge services connecting with inland locations. The terminal will support agriculture, manufacturing, technology and retail shippers. Weekly container service has already begun.”

The launch featured the debut of Harbor Industrial’s Ship Oregon initiative “aimed at encouraging businesses to move their cargo through Oregon ports as a way to reduce overall transportation costs, reduce roadway emissions and congestion and support Oregon-centric supply chains,” the announcement said.

Signaling OCT’s importance, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said: “Global connections like these give Oregon a competitive edge and help secure our economic future. They ensure that cranberries grown along the coast, hay harvested in the Willamette Valley, wheat from Eastern Oregon, and products made in the Portland metro area can reach global markets efficiently, competitively and sustainably.”

“OCT is about reliability, growth and partnership,” said Tim McCarthy, president of OCT who moderated the launch ceremony: “This terminal gives shippers from Oregon and inland locations a stable, efficient and competitive gateway, backed by 210 acres of already developed infrastructure, experienced operators and a skilled workforce with a proven record of productivity.”

Port of Portland Executive Director Curtis Robinhold said: “This transition ensures a reliable, cost-effective connection to international markets for Oregon businesses. Securing a long-term operator for container service at Terminal 6 means exporters and importers across the state and region can keep moving their goods efficiently, competitively, and closer to home while supporting thousands of family-wage jobs and our state’s economy. We’re grateful to Governor Kotek and state legislators for their efforts to sustain container operations and invest in Oregon’s future.”