California Apparel News

The Port of Long Beach is going full steam ahead on a $750 million project that has been on the drawing board for nearly a decade.

After six hours of discussion, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted 5 to 0 on April 10 to approve the final environmental-impact report for the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project.

The project will combine two aging terminals into one modern terminal where ships can plug in for power instead of running diesel engines that pollute the air. Also, more dockside loading of containers onto railroad cars will be available to reduce truck traffic.

With the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles responsible for handling more than 40 percent of the ship cargo coming from Asia, it means good news for the apparel industry. On-time deliveries and efficient cargo systems are mandatory for manufacturers trying to avoid charge-back fees levied by retailers.

This is the fifth major project approved for the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex in two years, after port officials were stymied for years by environmentalists’ concerns that growth at the ports would mean dirtier air.

But in 2007, both ports approved the Clean Air Action Plan to bring in cleaner drayage trucks for cargo movement, which will reduce pollution around the docks.

The Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project, which will take 10 years to build and promises to provide employment for 14,000 people, is quite ambitious. It will nearly triple the cargo capacity in that area of the port, expanding capacity from 1 million 20-foot containers a year to 3 million containers, said Long Beach spokesperson Art Wong.

To do that, it will reconfigure the two terminals that hold Piers D, E and F into one terminal that encompasses 345 acres, adding 51 acres by filling in slips. A major feature is the addition of 65,000 feet of railroad track, which will allow nearly one-third of all the cargo at the improved terminal to move by rail. Dredging will deepen the terminal, giving it an at least 50-foot depth to accommodate the larger cargo ships that carry more than 8,000 20-foot containers.

Business leaders lauded the project’s job-creation benefit. Gary Toebben, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, appeared at the commissioners’ meeting to give his endorsement. “It is an outstanding proposal. It will double [or triple] the capacity of the Middle Harbor area and reduce emissions by 50 percent,” he said. “There are 548,000 people unemployed in Los Angeles County today. That makes this project even more important.”

But the project comes at a time when trade at the second-largest port in the area has nose-dived. In 2007, a peak number of containers arrived at the port. By 2008, cargo volumes had dipped 11 percent to 6.4 million containers. This year the situation has been exacerbated by the slowing U.S. economy, which has been in a recession since December 2007.

Maritime trade continues its steep decline, with cargo volumes in Long Beach taking a 32 percent dip during the first two months of 2009 compared with 2008. But port officials believe that when the project gets off the ground by the end of this year or early next year, the economy will begin to show signs of new life.

“Although cargo has dropped steeply in recent months, the port remains committed to financing several major infrastructure projects that are putting local construction and contracting firms to work. Our goal is to keep the port competitive when the economy rebounds and cargo returns,” said Richard Steinke, the Long Beach port’s executive director.

Toebben pointed out that these two terminals are 30 and 40 years old and need to be replaced. “If you start looking at infrastructure that is that old, and if you want to compete in the future and provide services to your customers, you have to upgrade your technology significantly,” he said.

The final environmental-impact report for the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project has been in the public venue since April 2 for public comment and input.

With the harbor commissioners’ stamp of approval, the project has one more hurdle. It has to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, which is expected to do so next month.

While the Long Beach City Council does not need to vote on the project, an appeal could be filed with the city within 30 days objecting to the project.

But once reconfiguration starts, construction will be phased in to allow cargo operations to continue at the two terminals—the Long Beach Terminal and California United Terminal.

The Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project will employ a number of environmentally friendly steps that are starting to be the wave of the future for port development. For example:

bull; All container cargo ships at the terminal will plug into shore-side electricity and turn off their main and auxiliary engines for less air pollution.

bull; All cargo-handling equipment at the terminal will be the cleanest available.

bull; All trucks calling at the terminal will meet 2007 EPA standards.

bull; And rail-yard operations will use alternative fuels and cleaner equipment.