The Port of Oakland hosted a congressional supply chain stakeholder meeting this week in Jack London Square. The event was designed to address constituent business and trade industry stakeholder concerns about congestion and supply chain issues at the Port.
The meeting was led by Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa) and included Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-Fairfield).
In addition to the Congressmembers, the forum featured federal and state government officials including Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei, and representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CA Department of Food and Agriculture, CA State Transportation Agency and the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development.
Congressional forum on supply chain at Port of Oakland - Representatives left to right - Jim Costa (D-Merced), Mike Thompson (D-Napa), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), John Garamendi (D-Fairfield), and Federal Maritime Commission Chair Daniel Maffei.
Additional attendees included a wide range of supply chain stakeholders, with an emphasis on representation from the agricultural export community.
Congressional representatives and government panelists discussed challenges faced by port congestion and ways to improve local and national supply chain issues.
“During the pandemic, international trade on the California coast was disrupted in an unprecedented way. We know how much these delays have harmed California’s critical agricultural industry and those who rely on these producers,” said Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland). “We can’t stop here. We’re going to continue this discussion to improve maritime backlog in the future with a conservation approach. I’m thankful to my colleagues in Congress, community leaders, agricultural producers, and the Port for their contributions to this effort, and look forward to lending federal support for a more efficient and resilient supply chain.”
Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei said getting empty containers into the interior of the country to service exporters is still a problem, but the situation is improving.
“Congestion is down substantially here on the West Coast,” said Maffei. “We’ve expanded our audit program to promote exporters and many of the major carriers have adopted comprehensive export strategies,” he said. “Certainly, willingness to meet agricultural exporters halfway is much more prevalent in the industry now than it was two years ago.”
For more information: 
Robert Bernardo
Port of Oakland
Tel.: +1 (510) 627-1401
rbernardo@portoakland.com
Marilyn Sandifur
Tel.: +1 (510) 627-1193
msandifur@portoakland.com
David DeWitt
Tel.: +1 (510) 627-1169
ddewitt@portoakland.com