There are fewer ships with containers arriving into the Port of Oakland, and that could mean fruit, nut and meat exports leaving the port could be affected.
During a recent video conference with the Harbor Trucking Association, Oakland Maritime officials said that 20 ship arrivals in May and June have been cancelled, which could be a 5%-15% drop in containerized cargo volume heading into the summer, according to a news release. The cancelled routes were attributed to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a clouded picture,” Andrew Hwang, Port of Oakland business development manager, said in the release. “About 10% of our scheduled vessel arrivals have been canceled by shipping lines, but we don’t know if that will translate into a similar drop in volume.”
With a drop in consumers buying goods, Asian manufacturers are exporting less and import volume is going to see declines in coming months, according to port officials.
Although demand for exports from the Port of Oakland remain strong, “voyage cancelations could place some markets beyond reach,” according to the release. The port’s exports to South Korea and Japan rose 31% and 18% in March, respectively.
“Fruit, nut and meat exports are particularly coveted by overseas trading partners, especially in Asia,’ according to the release.
When cargo arrives, it is moving smoothly through the port, and there are no current shortages to labor or equipment. The pandemic, however, could permanently change container transportation practices, with shipping lines consolidating cargo on larger ships, dropping the frequency of voyages to U.S. ports.
A continued growth in online sales could alter supply chains, pushing distribution hubs closer to central locations.
“Distribution patterns will change … it won’t be like it was,” Hwang said in the release.
For more coverage on how the global pandemic is changing the supply chain, see The Packer’s COVID-19 webpage.
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