The Shanghai epidemic has hit the Port of Oakland, causing a two-month decline in throughput! Will the peak shipping season come earlier than in previous years?

It is learned that the Shanghai epidemic has hit global freight volume. In April 2022, the cargo volume of the Port of Oakland on the west coast of the United States fell by 7% year-on-year, container imports fell by 17%, and container exports fell by 18%. Due to the chain reaction of the Shanghai epidemic, this is the second consecutive month of decline in the throughput of the Port of Oakland. In March, the port's throughput fell by 11% year-on-year.

"U.S. container exports have been hampered by China's chaotic ship schedules," said Bryan Brandes, maritime director at the Port of Oakland. "Much of Oakland's business relies on the Asia-US trade route." It is reported that during the peak of port congestion in 2021, as many as 30 ships were waiting to enter Oakland berths, but in April this number has dropped to a few ships.

According to the data, the number of ships calling at Oakland decreased in April; importers were slow to retrieve their goods, which led to congestion in container yards and slowed down the unloading of goods; in addition, the shortage of containers also made it more difficult to load export goods.

The Port of Oakland said that with the strong resumption of cargo activity in Shanghai, the tight global supply chain is gradually easing. The Port of Oakland is also discussing with shipping companies to increase the number of ships calling at the Port of Oakland. As ship schedules normalize, the pace of cargo operations should accelerate.

It is understood that experts believe this is good news because the Port of Oakland is preparing for the peak shipping season. Industry experts say that in order to avoid transportation delays caused by the uncertain epidemic, US retailers will prepare inventory in advance and predict that the 2022 shipping peak season will be earlier than in previous years.

Editor ✎Estella/

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