The M-580 California Green Trade Corridor

M-580 Barge Container Service versus Current System

The M-580 California Green Trade Corridor is a container on barge marine highway service owned and operated by the Port of Stockton, in cooperation with the Port of Oakland. The service was made possible through a TIGER grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as grants awarded by the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District, Bay Area Quality Management District, and local funding provided by the Port of Stockton and Port of Oakland.

Specifically, the M-580 Marine Highway Project is funded through DOT/MARAD and the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The $13.5 million funding for the Port of Stockton is designed to create jobs and economic benefits, both locally and regionally. Funding for the Port of Stockton has been used to procure (2) two 140-ton mobile harbor cranes, dockside improvements in the form of demolition projects to enhance operational efficiencies, rail extension completing an on-dock and off-dock rail loop system, and a near-dock rail served container yard. In addition, the Ports of Oakland and Stockton, in concert with San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, have contributed  $3.2 million dollars collectively to purchase  two barges to support the M580/I80 Marine Highway Project.

The current system of transferring containers from the Port of Oakland to the Central Valley of California is wrought with problems. Loaded containers carrying lucrative cargo move at a snail's pace along Interstate 580 - one of the most congested roads in the nation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of empty containers must return to the Port of Oakland to be interchanged only so they can be made available to export shippers back in the Central Valley. Loads and empties pass each other on the highway - wasting time, costing money and precious resources, and polluting California skies. Transportation accounts for 40 percent of California's annual green house gas emissions.

Additionally, shippers tie up working capital by maintaining excess land for container storage, paying demurrage, and risking shipping delays and equipment shortages.

The Solution:

A transportation choice that will:

• • Reduce transportation cost and free up working capital
• • Ease scheduling and equipment shortages
• • Create a "green" supply chain
• • Bring jobs to the community


The M-580 service will move your containers on barges between the ports of Oakland and Stockton on the San Joaquin River, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. A safe and ecologically sustainable way to move goods along the Marine Highway, the M-580 barge container service can eliminate more than a million truck trips from the roadway.



A satellite container terminal in the San Joaquin County of California will provide a logical and convenient interchange point for containers in close proximity to import distribution centers and exporters, as well as the BNSF and UP rail intermodal facilities. This eliminates hundreds of miles that containers must travel empty, reduces your container storage costs and demurrage, eases scheduling and equipment shortages, and delivers on your schedule.

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