Bryan Brandes, the new maritime director for the Port of Oakland, said that Port of Oakland is fortunate to have a market that is 50% import and 50% export and is hopeful about its export market potential:
“We are the second port of call and so exporters can load export containers in Oakland and have a faster transit time than from L.A. and Long Beach to Asia. Also, we are right next to the San Joaquin Valley, a major U.S. agricultural center and source of agricultural exports which are all trucked and not rail dependent. We are looking to expand our export market by attracting agricultural exports from the Midwest and from the Gulf.”