The Diplomat holds development at the Port of Oakland as ‘evidence of China’s growing appetite for American agricultural products.’
From forks to iPhones to couches, “Made in China” products fill American stores. U.S. ports typically import far more from China than they export, but Oakland stands as a rare exception. In 2014, it shipped 392,612 tons of cargo to China compared to receiving 244,669 tons.
The port’s trade surplus is largely driven by agricultural exports. As the last stop ships make on the West Coast before departing across the Pacific, Oakland often has the shortest transit time to Asia, making it an ideal gateway for outbound foodstuffs, particularly frozen commodities. Refrigerated cargo is expensive, cooled by diesel-powered generators when at sea, so minimizing transit time is crucial.
Oakland is keen to build – quite literally – on its geographic advantage. On the site of the former Oakland Army Base, the port of Oakland is developing a logistics hub that will be able to accommodate four 8,000-foot trains at a time. Last year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood presented a $15 million grant to modernize the port’s ship-to-rail exchange capacity with improvements expected as soon as 2016. Frisher said the port is also planning a new cold storage facility and a grain transload operation, which moves cargo from domestic 53-foot rail containers to 40-foot maritime containers.