Even though California’s economic recovery remains a work in progress, Golden State exporters turned in their best performance ever for the month of October. And Bay Area shipping played a major role in this story.
BY PATRICK BURNSON
Published: January, 2011
In inflation-adjusted terms, California’s export trade this October exceeded by 1.1 percent the previous high for that month, achieved in October 2007, according to an analysis by Beacon Economics of foreign trade data released last month by the U.S. Commerce Department.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, exported air freight tonnage through SFO was up by 15.8 percent from last October, while outbound loaded container traffic across the Bay at the Port of Oakland rose by 0.3 percent.“Our export trade is now operating at a pace not seen since the onset of the Great Recession,” said Jock O’Connell, Beacon Economics’ international trade adviser.
The $12.91 billion in goods California businesses shipped abroad this October also exceeded the $11.08 billion sent to overseas markets in the same month in 2009 by a healthy 16.5 percent margin. The value of the state’s manufactured exports this October was up by 10.7 percent from last October, while shipments of agricultural goods and other non-manufactured products soared by 34.6 percent. Meanwhile, re-exports of items previously imported into the state jumped by 25.2 percent.
October marked the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in California’s export trade. California accounted for 11 percent of all U.S. merchandise exports in October.
“All indications are that growth in California’s exports continues to be led by airborne shipments of high-value items such as electronics components, medical and scientific instruments, perishable food items and pharmaceuticals,” O’Connell said.
Airborne shipments accounted for 46.9 percent of the state’s $12.91 billion in October merchandise exports, while seaborne trade represented 30.3 percent. Overland trade with Mexico and Canada, California’s two largest trading partners, accounted for the remaining 22.8 percent of state exports.
On the import side of the ledger, the U.S. Commerce Department reports that California’s merchandise import trade totaled $28.85 billion in October, an increase of 7.2 percent over last October. California accounted for 17 percent of all U.S. merchandise imports in October. California’s nominal international trade deficit in October amounted to $15.94 billion.
New Trans-Pacific Carrier Comes to Port of Oakland
The newest trans-Pacific ocean carrier, Hainan P O Shipping (P O Shipping), has expanded its services with a call connecting Oakland with five major ports in China.
P O Shipping inaugurated the Oakland call on December 20 with the arrival of its vessel POS Hong Kong. The call is part of a weekly Central Asia Express service that was launched in August 2010 with one U.S. port of call at Long Beach. This service will now link Oakland with Hong Kong, Yantian, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai.
“Our expansion to serve Oakland demonstrates our commitment to provide a greater level of service to our customers,” said K.K. Chan, president of P O Shipping’s U.S. arm. “As the third-busiest port on the U.S. West Coast, and its location as a premier gateway for U.S. agricultural exports, Oakland is a natural choice.”
Five vessels in the 2,700 to 3,200 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container unit) range will call each Saturday at the Oakland International Container Terminal facility (berths 57-59). P O Shipping also operates an integrated feeder network in China that enables cargo from the outlying ports of Qingdao, Tianjin, Dalian, and Nansha to transship to the CAE for direct transit to Oakland.
“P O Shipping’s decision to expand to Oakland means more choices and flexibility for U.S. importers and exporters who use our gateway,” said James Kwon, the Port of Oakland’s maritime director. “Its service connects Oakland with some of the fastest-growing regions in China, particularly the Yangtze River Delta and the northern Bohai Rim.”
Port of Oakland Enhances ‘Cold Chain’ Services
The announcement of a new ocean cargo service linking China to Oakland comes at a time when the port is making a remarkable outreach effort, with significant “cold chain” implications.
In November, the port and China Merchants Holdings International Company Limited (CMHI) entered into an agreement to strategically market and develop supply chain solutions for U.S. exports, particularly agricultural commodities and perishable products. A delegation from the Port of Oakland, led by the first vice president of the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners, Pamela Calloway, participated in a signing ceremony held at China Merchants’ Hong Kong headquarters.
The focus was on enhancing warehousing and logistics facilities and creating seamless cold chain services for U.S. companies exporting their perishable products to China. “The form and scale of this partnership is a first for the U.S. port industry,” said Omar Benjamin, Port of Oakland Executive Director. “China is a significant and rapidly growing market for U.S. food and agriculture products, but the lack of cold chain services is inhibiting the export potential. Our initiatives will help make it easier, safer and faster to export U.S. commodities from California and distribute them throughout China.”
