Holiday Helpers: Port Of Oakland Takes In More Goods For Christmas Season Amid Problems In L.A., Long Beach
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Five weeks from Christmas, a crisis is taking shape that could keep gifts from making it under the tree in time. However, the holiday heroes could be right here in the Bay Area.
Workers at the Port of Oakland could end up being Santa's big assistant this year.
In Southern California, ships are lined up with no place to go. A backlog clogging the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are causing major shipping delays.
"My customers are pulling their hair out," said Mike Johnson of the Port Logistics Group.
Cargo that normally unloads in a few days is now taking a couple of weeks, because this year there's more cargo, larger ships, and stalled labor negotiations. Retailers and shippers are frustrated.
"You can see empty stations here," said Linda Suh, CEO and co-founder of Cloud B.
Now many are waiting to stock their inventory. Instead of having shipping containers float for weeks in the Pacific, far from store shelves, thousands of customers are coming to Oakland.
"Customers have diverted their cargo to Oakland just because of that issue they've been experiencing," said John Driscoll of the Port of Oakland.
The latest numbers show a 10 percent jump in business in October compared to last year. That's almost seven thousand more of these containers coming to the port.
And things are even busier this month, in the final dash before the start of the holiday shopping season, a season they're helping save.
Long term, port officials said they want these retailers and shippers to become repeat customers. Each year, $40 billion worth of goods flows through the Port of Oakland.
