Press Releases
Port of Redwood City's Record Year Underscores Economic Turnaround in Local Construction Industry
Looking for evidence of an economic turnaround in San Mateo County? Look no further than the Port of Redwood City, which today announced that maritime business for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was a record 1,908,172 metric tons, thanks in large part to the busy building trades need for construction materials from around the world.
Port Commission Chairman Dick Dodge announced that three major cargos each achieved record business at the Port as measured by tonnage. Cement, gypsum, and recycled scrap metal crossed Port docks in record volumes and contributed significantly to the Port’s overall tonnage growth.
“There is pent-up demand for construction materials as the economy rebounds,” Dodge noted, “and the Port is pleased to be the maritime connection to bring construction materials from the Far East, Australia, Mexico, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest to our region, as well as exporting ferrous scrap metal to the Far East.”
Local supplies from cement plants and quarries are limited, so to keep the building trades upturn spurring, the construction industry needs cement, gypsum (used to make wallboard), and aggregates used to build roads, commercial buildings, and homes, Dodge said.
Cemex/RMC imported 535,039 metric tons of cement from Asia during the fiscal year, a 30 percent increase over the previous year. Cemex’s new railcar load-out system allows the Port customer to more efficiently move its cement products by rail over a wider market.
Gypsum imports from Mexico exceeded 301,413 metric tons for FY 04-05, a six percent increase. Pabco Gypsum Company uses the gypsum to manufacture wallboard in Newark for the building industry. This record gypsum tonnage was responsible for keeping Pabco’s wallboard plant operating around the clock for most of the past 12 months.
Sand, bauxite, and limestone imported by bulk carrier from Australia and the Pacific Northwest, accounted for 441,253 tons.
SimsMetal America exported 394,273 metric tons of scrap metal to the Far East during the fiscal year, a 41 percent increase over the prior year and an all-time volume for this recycled material. The scrap metal includes thousands of abandoned cars that in days gone by were stored in “junk yards” or discarded in local landfills.
The fiscal year saw 156 ships and barges call upon the Port.
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