SIMIC

Agricultural exporters say the move is an important step toward ending the vessel capacity shortages they are facing at the Northern California port, reports IHS Media.

ONE's PS5 service, with a port rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Los Angeles, Oakland, Tokyo, and Shanghai, will resume November 13, the Port of Oakland said in a statement.

"This is an important service for our import and export customers, and it's a further sign of the importance that our industry partners place on Oakland," Bryan Brandes, the port's maritime director, said in the statement.

Other carriers including CMA CGM, Wan Hai, Matson Navigation Co, and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) have already resumed or intend to reinstate services over the coming months that they had suspended earlier this year, Mr Brandes said.

He said he anticipates that by the end of the year, all services that had been suspended will have returned, and Oakland's export and import volumes "will be back to where they were at the beginning of the year."

Imports through Oakland were up 18.7 per cent in January through August compared with the year-ago period, according to data from PIERS.

Exporters in Northern California and the Midwest who depend on Oakland as an important gateway for shipping agricultural products to Asia "have been desperate to get services back to Oakland," said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC).

ONE's PS5 service will restore service to those key markets, Mr Brandes said. He added that importers in Northern California will likewise benefit from reinstatement of the service due to increased demand for merchandise from Asia to serve the burgeoning warehousing and distribution sector that serves online shopping needs.

The influx of import containers is also important for agricultural exporters because as the containers are unloaded, they can be turned over to exporters to be refilled with agricultural products for Asia, Mr Brandes said.