[Skip to Content]
Port of Oakland Mobile Logo
JOIN USFull Menu

Cool Port

Port of Oakland meat exports to Asia increased 40 percent from 2015 to 2018. Why? Three reasons:

  1. Asian demand for high-quality American farm goods continues unabated.
  2. There’s no faster U.S. export gateway to Asia than the Port of Oakland.
  3. The Port in 2018 introduced its latest game-changer: Lineage Cool Port Oakland.

That third item was one of the Port’s biggest 2018 highlights. Cool Port is a 280,000-square-foot temperature-controlled distribution center. It was opened by Lineage Logistics and Dreisbach Enterprises last November to redirect the food chain through Oakland. The operators expect to ship 1 million tons of beef and pork annually.

The Port of Oakland is the last U.S. West Coast stop for container ships in the transpacific trade. That means it’s a straight shot—with no intervening port calls—from Oakland back to Asian markets. Perishable commodities, such as those handled at Cool Port, extend shelf life by loading in Oakland.

Lineage Cool Port Oakland will be the most efficient way for agricultural exporters to reach overseas markets. Meat shipments from as far away as the Midwest will go directly into Cool Port by rail. Cargo will whisk across Cool Port’s dock into 40-foot refrigerated containers. From there, shipments can be drayed across the street to the Port’s marine terminals for export.

Cargo handling will occur within the Port, eliminating costly truck trips to remote transload locations. What’s more, exporters can ship heavier loads to Oakland.

There’s a new fleet of 2018 tractors and chassis at Cool Port. The equipment was constructed with lightweight material and stripped of nonessential components. The result? Exporters can load up to 10,000 more pounds of cargo into a container. Lineage Cool Port Oakland estimates shippers can save up to 20 percent on shipping costs.