“If you’ve seen one port…”
By Jock O’Connell
Every port is unique. To be sure, ports all face common challenges like quarrelsome neighbors, hyper-active regulators, enigmatic shipping lines, the trend to ever-larger vessels, impatient cargo owners, obstinate labor unions, rising sea levels, etc. Still, ports historically arose to serve the areas immediately surrounding them. And, to varying degrees, ports are still in the business of catering to local markets.
Along the U.S. West Coast, there are four large container ports that, while serving the shipping needs of regional businesses and consumers, are primarily gateways for trade involving broad swaths of North America. At the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, for example, as much as 70% of inbound shipments are destined for markets outside of Southern California. In the Pacific Northwest, the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle likewise see a significant share of their foreign trade originating in or destined for markets east of the Cascades. That means they traffic in goods that closely reflect the nation’s trade patterns.
At mainland U.S. ports, the two leading containerized imports by weight are normally furniture followed by auto parts. That’s the case at the San Pedro Bay ports as well as the Washington State ports.
At the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the top ten containerized imports by weight this year have been:
Furniture (HS 9403)
Auto Parts (HS 8708)
Seats (HS 9401)
Tires (HS 4011)
Semi-finished Iron Products (HS 7207)
Toys (HS 9503)
Electric Heaters (HS 8516)
Unglazed Ceramic Paving Stones
Screws, Nuts, Bolts (HS 7318)
Exercise Equipment (HS 9506)
Six of those commodities also rank among the Top Ten containerized imports list at the NWSA ports, which also features such nationally demanded products as Plywood Panels (HS 4412); Machinery Parts (HS 8431); and Lamps (HS 9405). The one somewhat idiosyncratic item among the NWSA ports’ leading imports is, not surprisingly, Coffee (HS 0901). Washington State, after all, is preeminently Starbucks country.
Things are different at the West Coast’s other large container port, the Port of Oakland. Although it is currently the nation’s eighth largest port in terms of total TEUs handled, the preponderance of its trade serves the needs of the surrounding Northern California Mega-Region.
On the export side, Oakland is the principal gateway for the export of agricultural products from an arc of counties stretching from Sonoma and Napa to the north, through the Central Valley, and back through Monterey and Santa Cruz. This region is arguably the most valuable agricultural real estate on the planet. Not surprisingly, the Port of Oakland’s top ten export commodities (by weight) include rice, nuts, citrus fruit, grapes, forage products, meats, tomatoes, and wines in addition to a selection of scrap and waste commodities. By contrast, Oakland handles very little of the advanced-technology products for which the San Francisco Bay Area is chiefly famous. Virtually all of Northern California’s technology exports travel by air to overseas destinations.
But Oakland’s real distinction lies on the import side, where it serves not just a regional market but a market that is richly emblematic of the Bay Area lifestyle. By weight, Oakland’s top two containerized imports are wine, followed immediately by the glass containers in which to pour wines. (Casks and barrels, about 90% of which come from France, are somewhat lower on the port’s import list.)
Also among Oakland’s top imports are such Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods staples like coffee, beer, preserved fruits and nuts, and bottled water (with Italy, Fiji, and France accounting for over 90% of that liquid trade).
Wine imports may arrive at the Port of Oakland in bottles, but the bulk of the trade involves bulk wines shipped in formats such as plastic bladders that can hold upwards of 24,000 liters. That’s enough to fill 32,000 standard bottles or 2,667 cases. Still wines in conventional bottles continue to account for about 41% of the port’s wine imports, while bottled sparkling wines such as Champagne hold a roughly 6% share. But generally lower quality wines shipped in bulk represent 53% of wine imports through Oakland. Chile, Australia, Italy, Argentina, and New Zealand have lately been the principal sources of the East Bay port’s wine imports.
As for the imported bottles, they mostly come from China and Taiwan, with smaller amounts sourced in France and the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates? Indeed, through the first three quarters of 2017, the UAE has shipped $10.1 million worth of glass containers to the Port of Oakland.
Interesting story. During the last week of January each year, the Sacramento Convention Center hosts the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, the largest wine industry trade show in the Western Hemisphere. Each year since 2003, I’ve gone to check up on the health of the industry. This past January, I chanced upon an elegant but condescending woman representing Saverglass, a French manufacturer of premium wine bottles.
“So you ship them here from France?” I asked. “Well, not entirely. Some come from Dubai.” “Dubai? Okay, I guess that makes sense. They obviously have lots of sand to make bottles.” “No, no, no. Desert sand is not suitable for wine bottles. We ship the sand from France to Dubai.” “Of course, you do.”
One can only imagine what the back-haul is. Anyway, it’s nice to know that through September of this year, the Port of Oakland – the maritime gateway to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Kermit Lynch – handled 10,985 metric tons worth over $10 million dollars in fancy wine bottles from a Muslim country.
Merry Christmas.
The commentary, views, and opinions expressed by Jock O’Connell are his own and do not reflect the views or positions of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. PMSA does not endorse, support, or make any representations regarding the content provided by any third party commentator.