Port of Portland ending container shipping operations, impacting jobs, businesses

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Port of Portland will soon end container shipping operations.

The decision will impact hundreds of jobs and businesses across the Portland-metro area.

The Port of Portland says they have lost millions of dollars.

Port leaders partially blame state lawmakers.

Shipping containers were piled up at Terminal 6 on Friday. There was not much movement or trucks, and things were about to get quieter there.

The port announced it will no longer accept shipping containers later this year.

It is not the news Brandon Bishop with the Oregon Seed Association and Ioka Marketing expected.

“We thought that if anything was going to change, it was going to take longer. I guess we weren’t expecting it to be closing so soon,” Bishop told KATU.

The Port of Portland has been a major shipping hub for businesses in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

Toys, everyday items and agriculture pass through there.

So, without a port, shippers including Ioka Marketing in Silverton must drive to Tacoma or Seattle, taking higher costs with them.

Usually, we get a better rate going through Portland, and then there is less trucking, but it’s a lower vessel rate going through Seattle, but more trucking. So, I’d say roughly our average containers add maybe add $150 to $300 per container more,” Bishop said.

The Port of Portland declined to talk on camera but shared a statement which said in part:

While volumes have steadily increased since 2019, the Port has endured losses of more than $30 million from container operations over the past three years, including a projected $14 million shortfall in the current fiscal year and is seeking state support to bridge to a more sustainable long-term solution.

In March, the port’s final hope for container shipping died when a deal with a third-party operator failed.

The port said Terminal 6 will remain a working marine terminal for other shipping needs, including automobiles and break bulk.

Come Oct. 1, Portland will be the only major city on the West Coast without container operations.

“It’s going to take longer to take product up through Seattle and Tacoma versus Portland. That was roughly an hour, an hour-10-minute driving,” Bishop said.

On April 15, Keith Leavitt, chief trade and economic development officer of the Port of Portland, sent this letter to shipping companies:

Dear Industry Stakeholders,

Despite the progress and effort we have made over the last year to create a financially sustainable path for container service at Terminal 6, I am sorry to say the third-party lease we were pursuing will not go forward at this time. This was the key to keeping the container business open, as well as the rationale for our funding request with the Legislature.

The Port does not have the funding necessary to sustain the operation, and we have made the difficult decision to cease operations as of October 1, 2024. We have notified the carriers, Harbor Industrial (our stevedore), as well as our staff, and we have also notified Governor Kotek and legislative leaders. Obviously, we did not expect this outcome, but it’s important we face it quickly given contract considerations with carriers.

While this is a painful and necessary short-term decision, we learned a lot over the last year regarding the market, carrier interest and the overall economic importance of Oregon’s only container terminal. We know that this terminal is a critical statewide asset – it is worthy of further discussions to come up with a financially sustainable business model for container service that has significantly more state funding and investment. For now, we have run out of financial options and must take this step.

I want to thank all of you who have been working with us over the years to find a path forward.