The Port of Oakland’s on-going supply chain issues were exacerbated by a week-long boycott by independent truckers protesting the state law AB5. As a result, the port experienced an overall drop in container volumes in the month of July 2022.  

"The Port was closed nearly a week last month due to the trucker protests voicing concern over AB5," said Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes. "This congestion reduced our overall July volume."

Total loaded container volume, which stood at 116,629 loaded TEUs (twenty-foot containers), dropped by 28 percent in July, compared to 162,898 TEUs in July 2021, according to a statement by the Port of Oakland.

In addition, loaded imports were down by 26.7 percent, recording 69,463 TEUs last month, compared to 94,745 in July 2021 and loaded export containers experienced a 30.8 percent decline, from 68,153 TEUs to 47,166 TEUs.

Moreover, rates charged to ship containers from Asia to the U.S. continued to decline pointing to a possible decrease in demand for imports. 

The AB5 protest snarled port operations, slowing the unloading of inbound ships, and delaying imports from leaving the terminals. Congestion in the container yards hindered the terminal’s ability to load ships with goods destined for export. 

Therefore, disruption caused by the strike and supply chain issues have made it harder for exporters to coordinate shipping activities and get their goods out of the port. In fact, it is estimated that it could take a month before the port traffic recovers from the protest. 

Full imports in 2022 year-to-date are down 4 percent compared to the first 7 months of 2021.