Thanks to $322 million in federal grants for zero-emission equipment and nearly $100 million for Port infrastructure, Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan says the Port is: “doing a whole lot of work in putting the basic building blocks (for) a very successful, bright future for the Port of Oakland.”
Wan and Maritime Director Bryan Brandes provided their 2024 Annual Review to the Propeller Club of Northern California on December 3rd, 2024.
Wan thanked Port of Oakland maritime stakeholders, including truckers, shippers, terminal operators, and longshore workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU): “We have a partnership with you, and we are making great strides … in our infrastructure that is being set in place …under the great leadership of our Maritime Director, Bryan Brandes. We are focused on making sure that the Seaport does what it’s supposed to do … that is making it … easy to get in and get out and … transparent in terms of where you are in terms of every step of the way. We are putting technology in to make sure … that’s what we’re doing.”
The big news, Wan said is: “The big news this year is our big success, again with the partnership, (of) many of you in this room … to make sure that the Port can get its fair share of … infrastructure money because we know that we need lots of infrastructure work. We are very proud and very happy that we got the $322 million of federal grants for … zero-emission equipment set in place. We also got close to about a hundred million dollars … got $50 million added to some previous grants for port improvement and port infrastructure development … to improve our wharves and to strengthen our wharves… I know that SSA is seeing some of that work and TraPac.”
In October, the Port of Oakland’s container volume rose 10% over recorded volumes for the same period in 2023. Loaded imports grew for the 12th straight month. Import volume rose 11.2% in October 2024, compared to October 2023. Port operators processed 81,498 TEUs (twenty-foot containers) versus 73,281 TEUs in 2023.
“Overall, the Port’s loaded import cargo is trending towards its pre-pandemic level,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. “This steady increase in import volume in 2024 is an encouraging trend. We are also seeing a rise in U.S. agricultural exports through Oakland. Thanks to refrigerated warehousing on Port property near the maritime terminals and convenient truck and rail access, we are well-positioned to continue to grow ag export cargo volume through the Oakland Seaport.”