The Port of Oakland, which is located on the US West coast, reached a three-year high in export volumes in October, soaring 20 percent over 2015 totals during the same reporting period. The Port reported that it shipped the equivalent of 89,473 export containers in October. This was the most since October 2013; it is also the fourth-largest monthly total in its history.
These figures cap a yearlong rally that has lifted year-to-date exports at the Port of Oakland 10 percent above 2015 volumes. In addition, the Port reported that containerized import cargo volume increased 2 percent in October. Overall loaded container volume – imports and exports – was up 11.4 percent.
The softer US dollar and healthy agricultural harvests helped drive export gains. Additionally, Asian countries were active through October in the purchase of containerized ferrous scrap from the West coast.