Port of Hueneme moves ahead with container terminal plans

The Southern California Port of Hueneme is planning to build a new container terminal to accommodate its expanded reefer cargo business from Central and South America, according to Port Director Kristin Decas.

In an interview with AJOT, Decas said: “The growth of reefer containers has helped propel the Port to processing 250,000 TEUS per year and with this increased volume has come the decision to move away from our current boom crane/mobile harbor cranes (and) toward building a dedicated container terminal supported by one gantry crane operation to begin with.”

The Port is projecting that it will process 256,715 TEUs in 2025, a 74% increase over its 2020 volume.

Decas noted that: “There are 123 container ports in the country and we are number 16, which is pretty impressive given 12 years ago we did not handle containers. It was all break bulk here. So, we are really kind of gaining ground there.”

Blueberries Boost

The Port is experiencing a major boost in blueberry imports from Peru that are currently in season and generating growing volumes of refrigerated cargo: “So, we are really kind of gaining ground there … We have worked very hard to become a cold treatment port for blueberries. But it has been phenomenal for our growth. We will move more blueberries than bananas. The season runs from August to about December, so we are right in the middle of the peak season for blueberries.”

Since 2022, blueberry imports have risen from 1,047 forty-foot containers to 3,228 forty-foot containers in 2024, an increase of 193%.

Port Is Number 5 In Reefers

The result is that the Port is the fifth largest refrigerated cargo port by market share in the United States:

1. Philadelphia
2. NY/NJ
3. Wilmington De
4. Los Angeles
5. Port Hueneme

Decas jokes that she calls Mario Cordero, Executive Director Port of Long Beach, and Gene Seroka, Executive Director Port of Los Angeles, “my big brothers, and I'm sandwiched between them here. But it is impressive how much fruit moves through Hueneme. We actually move more than the Port of Long Beach in refrigerated cargo.”

Meanwhile, the Port continues to be a major importer of bananas through imports from Chiquita, Del Monte, and Dole: “Dole will move quite a few bananas here on Maersk and Chiquita vessels,” she said.

Composition of Trade at Hueneme

The Port’s trade is composed of:

Imports

Bananas and Plantains, Melons, Blueberries, Avocados, Pineapples, Grapes, Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, High & Heavy, Liquid Bulk Fertilizer

Exports

Potatoes (fresh & frozen), Fabrics, Apples, Pears, Cheese, Curd, Passenger & Commercial Vehicles, High & Heavy, Apparel, T-shirts

Channel Islands Warehouse

On a tour of the Channel Islands Warehouse, which is a cold storage facility for the Port’s blueberry and banana imports, John Hansen, General Manager and Anthony Santos, Logistics Manager both emphasized the importance of the cross-dock operations to unload reefer containers, place the fruit in storage, and ship the fruit out by truck while getting containers back to the ship in a timely manner. The off-dock facility expands the ability of the Port to process containers from a facility that is literally down the street from the Port.

Tariffs Impact Car Imports

The Port is projecting that it will process 417,000 cars and other vehicles in 2025, primarily imports.

The Trump Administration's tariffs on car imports are having an impact on car import volumes at all US ports, including Port of Hueneme’s car business. According to Decas: “Cars are down 11%. In July, we are down 9,000 cars. So, we are starting to really see a hit from the tariffs. And we are trying to dissect it and talking to our customers. We have meetings next week with the Glovis executive team (which handles ocean transportation of cars). They are still investing, Glovis is getting another 10 acres over at East Ventura County. It really is going to depend, I think, on what U.S. consumers do and what happens with the economy and the purchasing power. I just do not know.”

During a tour, BMW Group’s Scott Fitzpatrick, Vehicle Distribution Manager, told AJOT that BMW imported cars are driven off the car-carrying ships and driven down the street to BMW’s distribution center, where each undergoes a rigorous inspection system to repair any defects or damage before cars are sent to dealerships. He says, “We process between 6,000 to 10,000 cars per month, and right now we are averaging 7,800.”

Port of Hueneme Top Trading Countries by Value

Rank Country CY2024 Tariffs

1. South Korea $6.5 B 25%
2. Germany $2.88 B 15%
3. U.K. $2.19 B 15%
4. Japan $1.36 B 15%
5. Sweden $789.15 M 15%
6. Guatemala $539.53 M 10%
7. Slovakia $520.5 M 15%
8. Mexico $483.95 M USMCA
9. Peru $411.32 M 10%
10. China $260.61 M 25%

New Competitive Challenges

Decas worries about the U.S. Trade Representative’s October decision to impose fees on Chinese-built ships and owned ships: “So, October 14th I thought was the day that USTR were going to kind of roll this out. And for us, we are less than 1% by volume and less than two or 3% by value of trade with China. So that does not really hit us. But the thing is that if there is a lot of disruption in the supply chain and the bigger ports get hungry for cargo I'm competing with an APL and the big terminal operators, and they are going to want to make money. And so, it is very possible that big carriers like MSC want to break into Latin American markets. If they are not filling up their ships, then they could poach our cargo. So, we have to really keep our competitive senses … we have to be very astute … and really watch what is happening with marketing.”

Ventura County Railway

The Ventura County Railway has been transporting goods for the Port since 1937. The Port is much more than just a place for ships to dock, Decas said, “We serve as a vital link in the supply chain to get you the goods you use every day. And that's where owning a railway comes in handy. The Port puts goods on rail instead of solely relying on trucks to get them from the shore to your local store and home. And guess what? The rail provides a cleaner and safer way to transport your goods and takes 150 trucks off the streets of our local community. This keeps congestion down and our air clean. Our rail brings in US-made autos for export, equipment for our farms and equipment to support our Navy base.”