
A Tale of Two Ports: Automation at Oakland vs. Rotterdam - thedogeye
https://medium.com/@typesfast/a-tale-of-two-ports-automation-at-oakland-vs-rotterdam-e93628be1e13
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jasode
The key paragraph, located near the end of the article:

 _> A second reason for the delay in adopting modern automation is the effect
on union jobs. Some have estimated that if the Port of Oakland were to
implement a modern level of automation, 40–50% of the jobs would be
eliminated._

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happytrails
The pay listed is high. Is that true? Crane operators making more than the all
rich swe field.

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cjensen
The article says the port charges $300 to unload a container, and can unload
30 per hour from a ship. That's $9000/hour. The cost of labor in the operation
is _trivial_.

The author's calculations of efficiency (units transferred per dock) appear
incorrect to me since he failed to account for how often the dock is empty.

The interesting questions to me are (1) are the docks in use full time? If so,
automation might improve the ports volume. (2) If automated, would the reduced
expenditures on cranes be sufficient to offset the cost of automation?

