OAKLAND — Buoyed by a steady flow of import traffic, the Port of Oakland has rebounded from a disastrous start to 2015 tied to a devastating labor slowdown and looks to grow further as it accepts larger tankers full of imports.
“Oakland has done extremely well after the labor shutdown. Oakland has remained focused,” said John Martin, principal executive with Pennsylvania-based Martin Associates, a consulting firm that tracks the maritime industry.
After import cargo declined about 38 percent over the first two months of 2015 (which coincided with the height of the labor dispute) compared with the same first two months of 2014, the port complex steadily improved its import activity. Imports now are up 0.4 percent, measured over the first 11 months of 2015 compared with the same period for 2014.
The East Bay port’s efforts to rebound from the labor dispute and operate more efficiently will get an additional boost when the 1,300-foot-long Chinese container ship Benjamin Franklin calls at Oakland Thursday, after a stop in Los Angeles.
These “mega-ships,” which can carry more than 18,000 20-foot containers, have traveled Asia-Europe trade routes but have never before docked in the United States. The largest container ships visiting the U.S. currently can carry no more than 14,000 containers.
In recent years, the Oakland port has spent several million dollars to dredge berths and channels, elevate cranes and modify operations on land, all in a quest to make the cargo complex more efficient and capable of handling huge ships. In April, port officials will launch a $14 million project to raise the height of four gantry cranes at the Oakland International Container Terminal by 26 feet to accommodate mega-ships.
Longer than an aircraft carrier, the Benjamin Franklin container ship is the largest vessel to ever visit the U.S. Were it tipped vertically, the ship would be taller than the Empire State Building, said Jock O’Connell, an international trade economist with Beacon Economics.
“The Port of Oakland and the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach have made great strides in digging themselves out of the hole they were in” due to the lost business the ports suffered in the wake of the West Coast labor dispute, O’Connell said.
It’s not clear when another mega-ship might dock, but being able to accommodate the giant vessels is seen as key for the port.
In fact, the upswing for the Oakland port is welcome news for the entire Bay Area economy.
“The Port of Oakland is a foundational element of the East Bay and Bay Area economy,” said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Stockton-based Business Forecasting Center. “It’s important for the port to thrive.”
Normally known for its exports of agricultural and technology products, the Oakland port’s upswing in imports is an important development, according to officials who are trying to find ways to build business on the import side of the ledger.
“The arrival of this big ship is a good sign,” said Michael Zampa, a spokesman for the Port of Oakland. “It’s an opportunity for us to continue to grow imports.”
Exports have struggled throughout 2015.
“You have slackening demand for exports to China because their economy is weaker, you have a stronger dollar and you have slowing growth in emerging economies,” Michael said. “Those all have caused exports to weaken.”
For the first 11 months of 2015, exports were down 11.8 percent compared with the same period in 2014, according to the port.
The import upswing has also resulted in a surge of jobs for members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the principal union that works on the Oakland docks.
“There has been a big influx of labor to the port since last summer,” Zampa said. “We have brought on at least 300 or so additional longshore workers.” About 1,400 ILWU members are employed at the Port of Oakland, union officials estimate.
Union officials embrace the additional work for their members and agree that the port is operating more efficiently.
“There is not a ship waiting on the water, there are no job stoppages,” said Melvin Mackay, president of ILWU Local 10, which represents Oakland port workers. “Everybody is working, everything is working efficiently. The port is happy; the mayor of Oakland is happy; most importantly, our members are happy.”
The union has committed to rapid training for workers who might be needed to respond to a surge in demand for labor, a commitment that is echoed by the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping lines and port terminal operators.
“You can put three people in the class tomorrow and have them trained to operate tractors in seven to 10 days, cranes about two weeks and heavy equipment about three weeks,” Mackay said.
In addition, proposals are being reviewed by the Federal Maritime Commission to enable all maritime terminals at the Oakland port to operate on Saturday.
And on its own initiative, Oakland International Container Terminal, which operates the largest terminal at the East Bay port, has begun experimenting with operating night gates and weekend gates on a periodic basis.
“That’s the key for Oakland, the innovative and aggressive ability to move cargo through the port facilities, whether through extended gate hours or more efficient operations,” Martin said.
Oakland officials recognize they face plenty of pressure to banish the sour memories of massive disruptions during the labor dispute. The Benjamin Franklin’s visit effectively is a trial run for Oakland’s ability to handle mega-ships.
“Ports up and down the West Coast will have to operate more efficiently,” Zampa said.
Contact George Avalos at 408-859-5167. Follow him at Twitter.com/georgeavalos.
