West Coast Ports

Special Report

Portland( pictured) consistently lost money as an operating port, and the situation did not improve under ICTSI. Port of Portland

Operator switch gives renewed hope to Portland’ s Terminal 6

By Bill Mongelluzzo

The formal handover of stevedore management at Portland’ s sole container terminal to a third-party operator ensures state agriculture exporters have access to a weekly Asian service after financial challenges threatened the Oregon port.

Harbor Industrial Services on Jan. 5 took over operation of the port-managed Terminal 6— now renamed Oregon Container Terminal( OCT)— and will oversee vessel and rail services for importers and exporters in Oregon, southwest Washington State and Idaho.

“ This terminal gives shippers from Oregon and inland locations a stable, efficient and competitive gateway.”

“ Securing a long-term operator for container service at Terminal 6 means exporters and importers across the state and region can keep moving their goods efficiently, competitively and closer to home while supporting thousands of family-wage jobs,” Port of Portland Executive Director Curtis Robinhold said during handover ceremonies Jan. 7.

The port did not provide specifics on the length of the contract with Harbor Industrial Services, only referring to it as a“ long-term lease.”

SM Line currently serves OCT with a weekly service that brings in imports from Asia such as tires, electronics, furniture and supplies used by businesses in their production processes. The vessels return to Asia with containerized exports such as grain, hay, berries and wood products, according to a statement from the port.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. also had a weekly service from Asia to Portland earlier in 2025, but that service was paused due to tariffs and related federal trade policies as the carrier shifted space on the vessels to serve countries where it did not face high fees, the port said.

Portland reached a“ framework agreement” with Harbor Industrial Services in late 2024 to oversee operation of Terminal 6. The port had registered losses of $ 26 million from 2023 through 2024.

Portland for more than 30 years was an operating port, but it consistently lost money, and the port signed a lease with Philippine-based ICTSI in 2010 to manage Terminal 6. In a 2015 interview with the Journal of Commerce, Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt said when the port first went out to bid for a private sector terminal operator, it was losing as much as $ 17 million a year.

But the situation did not improve under a private operator. As a result of non-stop labor turmoil, Portland was without a regular liner service for about three years until 2018. Its three carriers pulled out of the port while labor action continued and litigation between ICTSI and the

22 Journal of Commerce | February 2, 2026 www. joc. com