Freightwaves: Port of Oakland: Steady July amid import drop

Published by freightwaves 

Loaded container volumes at the Port of Oakland remained essentially steady through the first seven months of 2026, despite a difficult July comparison with the previous year.

The northern California hub handled 179,999 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) in July, virtually unchanged from June. Compared with July 2025, however, total container volume declined 11.4%.

Full imports totaled 79,426 TEUs during the month, down 14% year over year. Full exports reached 60,005 TEUs, an 8.5% decrease from July 2025. Combined laden cargo volume fell 11.7% to 139,431 TEUs.

Month over month, full imports increased 1.7% from June, while full exports declined 7.9%. Empty container volume totaled 40,568 TEUs, down 10.2% from July 2025.

Through July, Oakland handled 1,294,664 total TEUs, a 3.8% decline from the same period in 2025. The year-to-date decrease was driven primarily by lower empty-container activity, which fell 11.4%. Laden cargo volume declined by 1.5% over the same period.

Full exports were slightly ahead of last year through July, increasing 0.4%, while full imports declined 3.1%. The results leave the port’s core loaded cargo activity broadly stable, even as overall container movements remain under pressure.

“July was a challenging month compared to last year, but our laden volumes remain essentially flat year to date and exports are slightly ahead of 2025,” said Jason Garben, the port’s acting maritime director, in a release. “Despite uncertainty in the market, we are hearing a positive outlook from our ocean carrier partners for the remainder of the year.”

This week Hapag-Lloyd resumed scheduled services with the arrival of the Missouri Express, the first vessel to call Oakland as part of the WC5 U.S.-flag service.

The gateway recorded 81 vessel calls in July, compared with 95 calls during the same month a year ago. The decline accompanied the year-over-year reduction in total and laden container volume.