The East Bay has an extensive transportation system to serve its residents and businesses. The Port of Oakland, the fourth largest container port in the nation, is the hub for goods movement and international trade for all of Northern California, loading and discharging more than 99 percent of Northern California’s containerized goods. As businesses move goods, the level of mobility and operation of their complex distribution networks and supply chains play a fundamental role in efficiency and profitability. Convenient, affordable and reliable air travel enables individuals and companies the ability to conduct business around the country and throughout the world with the Oakland International Airport moving an average of over 1.9 million airline passengers each month
DAILY HOURS OF FREEWAY DELAY
The East Bay sits at the center of the Bay Area’s vast network of freeways and highways, making the number of hours of freeway delay in our region much higher than in other areas. High traffic volumes lead to this congestion which causes slower speeds, longer trip times and increased vehicle emissions. During the recession of the early 2000s fewer commuters brought about a decrease in freeway delay throughout the Bay Area. However, since 2003 delay has increased, with 2007 data for the East Bay region reaching close to 90,000 hours of delay per day.
PORT OF OAKLAND TEU TRAFFIC
The global economic downturn has brought about a decrease in spending in all areas of the economy which has affected traffic through the Port of Oakland. Since 2007, traffic of twenty foot equivalent unit containers (TEU) through the Port decreased, falling slightly (-0.20 percent) between 2006 and 2007 and more significantly (-6.40 percent) between 2007 and 2008.
In the high growth years preceding the downturn of the early 2000s, the Port saw annual increases between 6 and 12 percent. Furthermore, over the last several years, the predominance of full import container traffic has declined as full exports have recently begun to represent a much larger share of total traffic moving through the Port.
AIR TRAVEL
Airline passenger traffic reflects the level of tourism, business and overall economic activity in a region. The East Bay and San Jose markets cater mainly to business travelers, while San Francisco caters to business travelers and tourists as well. While traffic at San Francisco International has declined somewhat over the course of the current recession, passenger traffic at both Oakland International Airport and San Jose Mineta Airport has fallen sharply since 2007 - a result of various airline closures and an overall decrease in business spending While summer tourism in 2009 helped buoy the San Francisco market which saw a small increase of 2.0 percent, traffic at Oakland International was 16.6 percent lower in July 2009 than July 2008, and 15.6 percent lower at San Jose Mineta, over the same time.