The Port of Oakland was established in 1927, and is a world-class international cargo transportation and distribution hub. Located on the mainland shore of San Francisco Bay, one of the great natural harbors of the world, Oakland was among the first ports globally to specialize in the intermodal container operations which have revolutionized international trade and created the global economy. Since 1962, the Port has spent more than $1.4 billion to construct 1210 acres of marine terminals, intermodal rail facility, and maritime support area. This includes over $700 million for the current Vision 2000 program, which includes development of two new maritime terminals, a new intermodal rail facility, deepening channels and berths from -42' to -50', and a new public park and wildlife habitat. Most of the landside projects have been completed or are nearing completion while the dredging program, which started in October of 2001, will take approximately five to six years to complete. For additional information on the Vision 2000 and other maritime projects, please go to the Projects section of this web site. Oakland's 20 deepwater berths and 35 container cranes, 29 of which are Post-Panamax size, are backed by a network of local roads and interstate freeways, warehouses and intermodal railyards. If you would like more information on contacting the Bay Area companies which transport this cargo, go to the Forms section and request a Maritme Directory or one of the Port's other publications.

Ten Container terminals and two intermodal rail facilities serve the Oakland waterfront. For more information on the marine terminals, go to the Terminal Specifications section. The Union Pacific and BNSF railroad facilities are located adjacent to the heart of the marine terminal area to provide a reliable and efficient movement of cargo between the marine terminals or transload facilities and the intermodal rail facilities. For more information on the rail and other support service providers, go to the Service Directory section.

The Port of Oakland loads and discharges more than 99 percent of the containerized goods moving through Northern California, the nation's fourth largest metropolitan area. Oakland's cargo volume makes it the fourth busiest containerport in the United States, and ranks San Francisco Bay among the three principal Pacific Coast gateways for U.S. containerized cargoes, along with San Pedro Bay in southern California and Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. About 58.9 percent of Oakland's trade is with Asia. Europe accounts for 10.3 percent, Australia/New Zealand and South Pacific Islands about 4.7 percent and other foreign economies about 8.8 percent. About 17.3 percent of Oakland's trade is domestic (Hawaii and Guam) and military cargo. California's three major containerports carry approximately 50 percent on the nation's total container cargo volume.

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