Peak Shipping Season Set for Smooth Sailing
Peak shipping season, which runs from July to October, is shaping up to be a winner this summer.
Port officials say there is more capacity than ever to handle an ever-rising tide of containers from Asia as more apparel, textiles and electronic goods arrive from China and other Asian countries and land on store shelves.
Cargo arriving at the twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the busiest port complex in the United States, is predicted to grow by as much as 10 to 12 percent this year.
“The word on the street is that shippers have regained confidence in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., the non-profit group that attracts and retains business in the area. “They are coming back because the port complex is very large and the local market is very large. So it makes sense.”
In 2004, apparel shippers’ goods were taking as long as one week to be unloaded from cargo containers that were stacked up outside the breakwater, waiting for a place to berth. Last year, many shippers opted to send their cargo to Seattle, Tacoma, Wash., or Oakland, Calif., to avoid a repeat of 2004.
One of the largest problems that year was a shortage of longshore workers who were unable to handle all the cargo, most of which was coming from Asia. Since then, more than 8,600 casual longshore workers, or temporary workers, have been trained to aid the 7,050 active longshore workers registered to work at the port complex. Additionally, there are 8,000 to 9,000 temporary marine clerks who have been trained to help the 1,271 active marine clerks who enter data and manifests into the ports’ computer systems, according to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
In addition, 38 percent of the cargo that comes through the two ports is now picked up during off-peak hours. Truckers have been able to collect cargo at night and on Saturdays after a new off-peak program was launched on July 23. Anyone picking up cargo during the day must pay a fee of $50 per 20-foot container and $100 per 40-foot container. Pick-ups at night are free.
“The program has exceeded our expectations,” said Bruce Wargo, president and chief executive of PierPass Inc., which implemented the off-peak program last year.
Operations have been fairly calm at both ports.
“We are not experiencing any problems on the docks or [with a] backlog this year,” said Theresa Adams Lopez, a spokesperson for the Port of Los Angeles. “The PierPass Off-Peak program operating at night has given us more capacity— up to 30 percent more.”
Top trade items
In 2005, China was the top trading partner for Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Customs District, two-way trade between China and the Los Angeles area accounted for $109 billion of the $293.3 billion in goods that were processed by the customs department.
The No. 1 item passing through the ports and the airport was electronic machinery, valued at $31.8 billion. No. 4 on the list was apparel, with an imported value of $16.2 billion, up from $13.5 billion in 2004.
On the outbound side, the top item exported from Los Angeles last year was electronic apparatus, with a value of $10.8 billion. Second on the list was “aircraft-related goods,” which included helicopter and plane parts. Their exported value was $4.9 billion. Apparel exports were 36th on the list, totalling $448.7 million, while silk, wool and fabrics were 12th on the list at $1.87 billion.
Bumps in the road
The major concern now for transportation and cargo officials is expanding the area’s infrastructure to handle the evergrowing wave of cargo that will only grow as China and its neighboring countries take on a larger manufacturing role in the world economy.
Various bond issues up for voter approval this year would improve the state’s infrastructure. “The bonds would provide for some kind of transportation and congestion relief, which is important for Southern California, and would eliminate some of the bottlenecks we have,” Kyser said.
The ports are talking about implementing a railroad shuttle system that would take cargo as far as San Bernardino and Riverside counties, where many distribution centers and warehouses have been built in recent years. It is one way to take truck traffic off the highways and relieve congestion near the ports.
Currently only 20 to 25 percent of the ports’ cargo is transported out of the area by railroad. Transportation officials would like to see that figure increase to 30 to 35 percent.
