Port of Oakland’s McKenney & Brandes say infrastructure investments are key

The Port of Oakland’s new investments in infrastructure are key to modernization, reduced emissions, and attracting a first port of call service, according to Kristi McKenney, Executive Director Port of Oakland, and Maritime Director Bryan Brandes.

McKenney and Brandes provided a ‘State of the Port of Oakland 2025’ report to the Propeller Club of Northern California (PCNC) on December 2nd in which McKenney said, “We're constantly maintaining our infrastructure, constantly building new infrastructure and working with our partners on the infrastructure that they need, where it makes sense for them to invest and build so that we can be successful together.”

In addition, the Port will soon be receiving new ship-to-shore cranes for its terminal operations, she said.

Turning Basin

McKenney cited progress on the Port’s Turning Basin project.

Last July, the Port’s Turning Basins Widening Project reached an important milestone, as the Oakland Board of Port Commissioners certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) and approved advancement of the project.

The planned Turning Basin Widening Project involves widening both the Inner and Outer Harbor turning basins at the Oakland Seaport to better accommodate larger ships during turns. Vessels routinely calling Oakland today are larger, and in particular longer, and have transit restrictions resulting in inefficiencies that lead to delays, including plugging in to shore power, and negative economic impacts.

“We’re moving forward on a long-standing project that will preserve the Port’s economic competitiveness and allow the Port to continue delivering benefits to the local region and nation,” McKenney said.

New Cranes

In his presentation, Maritime Director Bryan Brandes welcomed the pending acquisition of new cranes, which he said laid the groundwork for a greener Port of Oakland. “Kristi mentioned we've got new cranes coming in, potentially four new cranes coming in, two this year, two next year, potentially more cranes at other facilities next year. And so, there's going to be a lot of transformational shifts and improvements in the Port of Oakland in the next couple of years. And every one of those advancements is coupled with a green initiative.”

Brandes also discussed advances in electrified shore power: “In the U.S., they've been electric for years, especially in the Port of Oakland. Plugging in vessels. We've been plugging in vessels for years. At the Port of Oakland, 96% of the vessels get plugged in.”

Transitioning Away from Diesel-Power

New grants will facilitate the transition away from diesel-powered equipment: “But now the next transition is the grants. We have got $322 million in EPA grant funding. Over a third of that is going to the terminals. When that gets spent, over 50% of the terminal equipment will be green. So, that is a significant transition to trying to achieve our goal of 100% zero-emission points. It is going to take some time, and it's going to take a lot of money. $100 million just for 50% and we've already had some green equipment.”

Brandes said there are also discussions with the Port’s terminals about embarking on modernization efforts: “We have discussions with two of our biggest terminal operators, and our third terminal operator will have discussions with them to advance and modernize their Port. These discussions will be finalized.”

First Port of Call

The Port does not currently have a first port of call with any of its ocean carrier services and hopes to invest in rail connection upgrades to attract a new service to advance the “target of getting a first port of call. We really need the next step, and that's really elevating our rail capabilities. We have two rail facilities near the dock, which means they are not on the dock. They are right across the street from all our facilities. And both the UP and the BNSF have facilities in the port. And we really need to expand and elevate and simulate either a dock, have an on-dock rail product, or simulate an on-dock rail product so that we can attract a first port of call.

On-Dock Rail

Brandes said that on-dock rail is critical to the market for a couple of different reasons, “First, having an on-dock rail is ‘that it takes trucks off the road.’

Secondly, on-dock rail moves us towards reducing emissions, and then also it allows the first port call vessels to come in and imports to come directly to the warehouses sooner rather than being on the vessel and staying on the vessel in LA and Long Beach.”

Data-Sharing

Brandes said that data sharing was another priority. “And the last area we have been spending a lot of time on is in the data sharing area. And this really covers a lot of different segments. So, both the Ports of LA and Long Beach have been focusing on data sharing. And we are working together on this. We have taken a slightly different approach and really focused on the trucking industry,” Brandes noted.

Brandes said that 2025 had been a “tough year” because two leading harbor trucking companies had gone out of business-GSC Logistics and TGS Transportation. “Two of our largest trucking companies that service the Port of Oakland went out of business this year. And it was tough. It was tough for a lot of us, and a lot of that has to do with the efficiency of getting in and out of the Port.”

“So, data sharing is important to help the truckers go in and out of the ports as efficiently as possible. We still have a long way to go.”

He said that one priority is a centralized appointment system.

A second priority is working with the terminals to try to improve the turn times or the efficiency in and out of the terminals: “where we can continue to work together so that the trucking companies can survive in this market.”

October Results

The Port of Oakland reported that it handled 182,879 TEUs in October 2025, marking a 2.2 percent increase compared to September 2025.

Full container cargo remained resilient, with full imports up 0.9 percent year-over-year and full exports down just 0.7 percent.

The overall 5.5 percent drop in annual volume was mainly because the Port moved far fewer empty containers in October. That reflects changes in how shipping lines are managing their equipment – not a slowdown in cargo demand, the Port said.

Brandes noted: “Full imports and exports are holding their ground despite the headwinds. The modest month-over-month increase shows cargo flow through Oakland remains steady heading into the holiday season. While we’re seeing fewer empty containers move through the system, that’s just part of the broader market adjustment.”

The Port recorded 86 vessel calls in October, down 6.5 percent year-over-year, consistent with ocean carriers’ ongoing schedule and service network adjustments.