Port Breaks Cargo Record

Cargo imports and exports hit an all-time high at the Port of Hueneme for FY2018 with 1.6 million tons of cargo moving through the Port. This represents an 8.1% increase over last year’s performance of 1.48 million cargo tons. The previous cargo record was set in FY2015 with 1.56 million cargo tons.

Oxnard Harbor District President, Mary Anne Rooney announced the record year at the Board of Commissioners public meeting on Monday evening stating, “This has been a tremendous year for our Port community, with more cargo than ever before passing through our seaport. This is a testament to the collaboration between our customers, community partners, and stakeholders to move cargo in the most efficient ways possible.” With the Port’s strategic location of being only 60 miles north of the San Pedro Bay ports, customers enjoy an uncongested harbor with efficient access to both the Southern and Northern California markets. On average, the Port saves its customers 10% of operation costs to process their cargo through Hueneme.

This new cargo record resulted from increases in nearly all areas of cargo imports and exports. Pineapples and melons rose a staggering 50%. Banana imports increased by 5%. “A 5% increase in banana imports may not sound like a big deal, but when you take into account that we import over 3.3 billion bananas a year, that percentage increase can make a significant impact on our overall cargo tonnage,” explained Oxnard Harbor District Commissioner Jason Hodge. “And we’ve done this all while leading the industry in environmental initiatives and being named the Greenest Port in the United States.” The Port serves as the West Coast hub for the Chiquita, Del Monte and One Banana brands, along with exporting produce from several California grown companies.

Since 2012, the Port’s cargo volume has increased by 23%, and an impressive 44% since the Great Recession in 2009. “This new cargo record is a result of our customer’s commitment to send their products through Hueneme, to the hard work of our dedicated longshore men and women who handle the cargo efficiently and safely, and to the willingness of our community stakeholders to work with us in moving cargo to the marketplace,” said CEO & Port Director Kristin Decas. “Every spoke in the wheel is necessary to move this amount of cargo and achieve this type of unprecedented growth.”