KEY QUOTATIONS FROM BRANDS:
“Historically, services called LA/Long Beach first and then Oakland as their second port of call, which fueled Oakland’s prominence for exports.” Several services turned away from Oakland last year and promptly returned to Asia. It had an impact on Oakland’s exports. We witnessed an 8% decrease last year. Oakland has historically been a 50/50 port [in terms of imports and exports].”
“We held a couple of meetings with exporters last year, led by John Porcari and the port envoy team [at the White House], as well as the USDA, California GoBiz, and transportation representatives.” And two issues really stood out. And the reason for this was a lack of empty trucks in the area to source for exports. In addition to the services offered by the lines. So we agreed to build an off-dock empty yard, which we will begin on March 1. The second project is vessel rehabilitation. This is a continuing debate at all levels. The exporters are negotiating with the lines, and the vessels are gradually being returned. However, government authorities have also been helpful.”
“They [exporters] have been asked to pay higher rates, and they have paid higher rates.” However, there would almost certainly always be a considerable imbalance between the import and export rates. This pop-up yard will provide exporters with an incentive to use it. The USDA has agreed to pay $125 for each empty container sourced from this yard for agricultural commodities, with the money going directly to the beneficial cargo owner of record.”
“It’s apparent that it will benefit importers as well.” Because the export requires that empty, the import drives the export. By removing these empties from the terminals, it will significantly reduce terminal congestion and allow export trucking companies to come to a single location and source all of the lines’ empties without making appointments. And it really just provides a better opportunity for the export community to go to a region where there isn’t export congestion and pick up an empty container. This simplifies the process and allows the terminals to focus on the imports, receiving the exports, and ensuring that the exports are loaded onto the vessel.”
