With the arrival of three new container cranes from Shanghai last month, the Port of Oakland’s leadership is anticipating continued cargo throughput.
By Patrick Burnson
Published: April, 2010
With the arrival of three new container cranes from Shanghai last month, the Port of Oakland’s leadership is anticipating continued cargo throughput. According to Omar Benjamin, the port’s executive director, Oakland has experienced a 30 percent increase in its maritime cargo imports and an 11 percent increase in outbound cargo exports compared to this time a year ago.
“There are glimmers of economic recovery on the horizon,” he said, “and people are beginning to feel the negative news of the past several months beginning to thaw and give way to better days.”
In a letter to shippers, Benjamin also noted that Union Pacific Railroad opened its Donner Pass route located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range to domestic double-stack intermodal container freight traffic not long ago. This is designed to move cargo over a shorter, faster and more efficient route from the Port of Oakland to the rest of the country.
Meanwhile, the City of Oakland and developer AMB/CCG are working with the port to transform the former Oakland Army Base into a strategic, trade and industry center which will boost economic recovery and bring more local jobs, said Benjamin.
In a broad effort to attract new business, the Port of Oakland is also in the process of updating its strategic plan to chart a course for the next five years. “This planning process includes the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners, port staff, and our customer and community stakeholders,” said Benjamin.
As reported in Bay Crossings, Oakland also joined the five other major West Coast ports, as well as Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, to create the U.S. West Coast Collaboration. This group, while continuing to actively compete with each other for business, will collectively market the advantages of the Pacific Rim.
Voters Urged to Elect Port-Friendly Officials
Public policy proposals on the West Coast threatening trade continue to flourish and enjoy popular support, says John McLaurin, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. In a keynote address at last month’s session of the Transpacific Maritime Conference in Long Beach, he noted that elected officials talk about creating jobs, and then support measures that kill them.
In 2010, politics will be dominated by elections, he said, noting that California voters will choose a new governor as well as new mayors and city council members in Oakland and Long Beach. Hundreds of state legislative seats in California and Washington are up for election. In addition, approximately 120 different ballot propositions have been filed with the California Attorney General’s Office for possible inclusion on the June and November ballots.
“Both California and Washington are struggling to close massive budget deficits,” observed McLaurin. “California’s budget deficit is projected to be approximately $21 billion this year. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting budget deficits of over $20 billion each year for the next five years—making California eligible for a bailout by the European Union.”
Not to be outdone, McLaurin added, the State of Washington’s budget deficit is approximately $2.8 billion—which is proportionately larger than the budget deficit in California. And the risk level of new taxes and fees on the goods movement industry increases in each state with each successive budget cycle.
Meanwhile, he said, local government is experiencing its own financial meltdown. Los Angeles is facing a $200 million budget deficit that is forecast to grow to half a billion dollars next fiscal year. Some public officials are expressing concern that the city could slip into bankruptcy.
“As a result of these deficits, cities will continue to siphon off port revenue to support general governmental programs,” said McLaurin. “In Long Beach, the city is making the port fund a growing number of projects the city can no longer afford. In Los Angeles, in fear of laying off thousands of city employees to balance the budget—as recommend by their financial advisors, the city is pushing hundreds of unwanted city employees on to the port—along with the ongoing financial liability for their salaries, benefits and retirement.”
If allowed to continue unchecked, said McLaurin, the long-term financial viability of ports to fund their own projects is brought into question.
On a hopeful note, however, McLaruin said that influencing public policy is “a marathon, not a sprint.” As cargo volumes slowly creep up, port officials must avoid a reinstatement of the arrogance that cargo has nowhere else to go but through the West Coast gateways.
“We don’t need press releases announcing greater cooperation,” he said. “We don’t need conferences to highlight our challenges. The time for talk is over. The time for action is now. Our ports are at a critical juncture—they have the opportunity to grow in terms of cargo volume and jobs along with continued efficiency and environmental advancements—or they may be forced down a path of political dysfunction, unnecessary costs and mediocrity.”
