In mid-September, Port of Oakland officials—joined by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the California State Coastal Conservancy—announced and celebrated the substantial completion of the “-50 Foot Project,” which deepened the shipping lanes in Oakland’s harbor to 50 feet.
Photo by Joel Williams
By Patrick Burnson
Published: November, 2009
In mid-September, Port of Oakland officials—joined by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the California State Coastal Conservancy—announced and celebrated the substantial completion of the “-50 Foot Project,” which deepened the shipping lanes in Oakland’s harbor to 50 feet.
Officials hailed the project as a major milestone. “A deep water harbor is absolutely vital to the wellbeing of our region,” said Victor K. Uno, president of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners. “The -50 Foot Project delivers critical benefits to our community, the state and nation. These include generating thousands of jobs, business activity, millions in tax revenues, and environmental benefits.”
While not dismissing this significant achievement in setting the stage for a more prosperous Bay Area economy, some shipping analysts suggest the port is going to have to do more than just provide a deeper harbor. Los Angeles and Long Beach, Oakland’s California rivals, still represent the leading cargo load centers in the United States. In the Pacific Northwest, both Seattle and Tacoma have deep water and have better rail connections to the Midwest.
Oakland also has to be concerned about losing share to the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, both of which are closer to Asian markets. And finally, it’s not just the West Coast ports that represent challenges to Oakland’s position; the East Coast Port of Savannah just moved up in the U.S. cargo throughput standings, pushing Oakland from fourth largest to fifth.
Seminar to Address Smaller Seaports
The Association of Pacific Ports meets this month with a “fly-in, fly-out” seminar that will examine how smaller ports like Redwood City and Stockton are poised to take advantage of the economic recovery. The one-day seminar will be held on Thursday, November 5 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Best Western Grosvenor Hotel, which is convenient to San Francisco International Airport.
Among the speakers will be Monique Moyer, executive director of the Port of San Francisco, and Jill Rodby, principal of Rx2 Marketing Communications. It should be noted that Rodby’s consulting start-up specializes in business-to-business marketing for the international maritime and logistics industry.
Conference to Focus on Logistics Industry Media Coverage
Rosemary Coates, president of Blue Silk Consulting and a devoted blogger, will provide valuable insight on how logistics companies can establish and use blogs to build relationships with their customers at the State of the Media Conference (www.rx2mc.com/mediaevents). The event, which is produced by Rx2 Marketing Communications and hosted by the Port of San Francisco, will take place November 6, at the Port’s headquarters.
Coates is a licensed United States Customs Broker and author who has taught classes in management, international business and importing and exporting for 10 years. Coates has extensive knowledge and experience in manufacturing and outsourcing in China, which she shares on her blog at rcoates.wordpress.com. Her new book, 42 Rules for Sourcing and Manufacturing in China, has just been released and can be found on Amazon.com.
“We are excited to have Rosemary speak at the conference. She is a real fan of social media and has effectively used her blog to market her book and her company,” said Jill Rodby, principal of Rx2 Marketing Communications. “She’ll share her expertise with us and I think we will learn a lot from her.”
In addition to Coates, several leading publishers and senior editors from Cargo Business News, Pacific Maritime Magazine, Logistics Management and 3PLNews.com will share their perspectives on the industry media, where’s it headed and how best to get an editor’s attention when submitting ideas for stories. Experts in B2B marketing from such companies as Marketo, PR Newswire, Peridot Productions, Inc. and the Wessling Group will participate in how-to sessions on social media, writing press releases and creating effective advertising.
This is the conference to attend if you have ever tried to get media coverage for your company’s services or products, or are thinking about implementing social media to reach your customers.
