Port of Oakland via flickr
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A years-long effort to win approval for a multibillion-dollar commercial facility at the Port of Oakland, which would have included a new stadium for Major League Baseball’s struggling Oakland Athleticsseems to have failed.
The American League team is likely headed to a new home on the Las Vegas Strip, perhaps in time for the 2025 baseball season.
The Governor of Nevada Joe Lombardo signed a $380 million bill that includes state funding for a 30,000-seat public stadium at the site of the Tropicana Casino Las Vegas.
Transportation industry organizations, including Port Trucking Association And California Trucking Associationhad opposed plans to use the abandoned Howard Terminal at Oakland’s facilities to build a stadium to replace the dilapidated stadium. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, generally considered one of the worst stadiums in MLB. These groups urged the A’s to stay in Oakland, but instead use a parking lot adjacent to the existing Coliseum and build a new park there, because it would not impact port operations and that location is already the site of ‘an Amtrak station. This is also part of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, with a designated station, on the railway line for Oakland International Airport.
Artist rendering of a water view of the proposed baseball stadium at Howard Terminal. (Bjarke Ingels Group/Oakland Athletics via AP)
Meanwhile, the Port of Oakland reported a 20.4% year-over-year decline in cargo volume in May, due to the labor dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union because some workers did not show up for work. express their dissatisfaction with the slowness of contract negotiations.
A tentative agreement was reached last week and the ILWU’s more than 22,000 workers will vote this summer on the six-year agreement.
The port said it handled 178,549 20-foot equivalent containers (TEUs) in May, up from 224,302 the previous year.
At the nearby ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, officials are breathing a sigh of relief that a labor contract was reached before the base. They have been saying for over a year that an agreement was the key to success return some volume to facilities that were lost to East Coast ports and the Gulf of Mexico.
“The agreement in principle between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association brings the stability and confidence that customers are looking for,” said Gene Serokaexecutive director of Port of Los Angeles.
Still, Los Angeles saw a 19.5% year-over-year decline as it handled 779,140 TEUs in May, compared to 967,900 in May 2022. Both ports also experienced labor shortages. work as negotiators rushed to reach an agreement, and several working days were lost as a result.
THE Long Beach Harbor reported a nearly 15% year-over-year decline in May, processing 758,225 containers compared to 890,989 a year ago.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which operates the Port of Seattle and the neighboring Port of Tacoma, did not have TEU numbers available at the time of publication.
In the Gulf of Mexico, Port Houston reported a 10% year-over-year decline in containerized cargo, handling 300,482 TEUs, down from 335,366 a year ago.
Yet even with this decline, Houston handled more than 1.54 million TEUs through May, a decline of just 2% from 2022’s record volumes.
THE Savannah Port handled 400,511 containers in May, down 22.8% from 519,388 in 2022, which was the fourth busiest month in the port’s history.
Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch presents @GaPorts $1.9 billion in infrastructure projects currently underway to address the changing global shipping landscape at the Annual Georgia Foreign Trade Conference. https://t.co/eUYloBEqxF#GrowingBig
– Georgia Ports (@GaPorts) June 12, 2023
Even with the year-over-year decline, port officials anticipate the facility will be ready to handle an expected increase in cargo of up to 10 million containers per year thanks to their nearly 2 year expansion plan. billion dollars, which will be completed at the end of 2026.
“As the fastest growing region of the country, the South is experiencing increased consumer demand, which translates into higher port volumes,” said Griff Lynchexecutive director of the port.
THE Port of Virginia saw its May volumes decrease by almost 22.2% year-on-year, to 265,875 containers, compared to 341,611 a year ago.
Port officials speak optimistically about the new service that began in late May and where Virginia will be the first East Coast port to receive weekly direct service cargo as part of the reworked EC4 ship service from South Asia. South East.
“This service leverages our ability to efficiently manage large ships, their cargo and our rail reach to the Midwest’s critical population and manufacturing hubs,” the port CEO said. Stephen Edwards said.
In April, the port launched daily rail service with Norfolk Southern to a new intermodal facility near Memphis.
The South Carolina Port Authority reported a 22% year-over-year decline to 198,104 TEUs, compared to 255,824 a year ago.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey typically releases its container figures a month later than other ports. In April, it reported a 20.1% year-on-year decline to 648,390 containers, compared to 811,786 in April 2022.
