Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Port of Portland received a very big shipment on Monday… a 16-story crane weighing fourteen hundred tons.

The $8 million crane will help the port process shipments faster.  Port spokesman Josh Thomas says those shipments affect all Oregonians.

Josh Thomas: "You don’t have to look far to see the impact from the clothes that you’re wearing to the shoes on your feet to the tires on your vehicles and the furniture in your home and office space. Most of those goods these days travel by container."

And the new crane will be used to move those containers.

The Port of Portland is the smallest West Coast port but it has seen a boost in traffic over the last year.   The Port ordered its new crane more than a year ago. It set sail from Shanghai on a specially designed ship in early March.  It will take the Port a few more weeks to get the crane installed and running.