Port of Oakland adds second night shift

In an ongoing effort to speed up cargo flow, the second-largest terminal operator at the Port of Oakland, TraPac, will add a second shift, opening night gates as of Oct. 15, port officials announced Friday.

The move enables thousands of truck drivers to pick up or drop off Oakland container cargo during nighttime hours, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., Monday through Thursday, giving freight haulers access to the terminal outside busy daytime hours.

Port officials said this should accelerate cargo flow and reduce truck queues.

“We want cargo to move as quickly as possible through the port and we’re grateful our terminal operators share that conviction,” John Driscoll, the Port of Oakland’s maritime director, said.

TraPac becomes Oakland’s second major marine terminal to open at night, joining Oakland International Container Terminal, which introduced night gates two years ago. Together, the two terminals process about 80 percent of all container cargo in Oakland.

TraPac is in the midst of a two-year project to double the size of its Oakland operations, expecting to complete construction by the end of the year, port officials said.