10 >> 8 Port of Long Beach


The Port of Long Beach is seeing a large jump in imports coming from Asia due to a dramatic increase in online spending by consumers affected by stay- at-home orders during the


Issue 1 2021 - FBJNA


S ea po r t L o gi s ti c s


Complex that will be ready for tenants in the new year,” adds Brandes.


COVID-19 pandemic, reports Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the port. “Volume at ports in the Gulf


and on the East Coast will continue to grow as the West Coast ports reach capacity for the first several months of 2021,” he says. “We are not seeing any immediate growth opportunities in Europe and Mexico


due to increasing


prices to deliver cargo to those locations.”


Cordero says the San Pedro


Bay ports continue to be the fastest and shortest route to Asia. “The Port of Long Beach


is open and operating and prepared to handle the increased cargo flow when the economy moves into recovery mode. There has been no shutdown or curtailment of operations at any POLB terminal or other facility,” he clarifies.


///WEST COAST PORTS The Port of Long Beach


felt the economic effects of COVID-19 in 2020. The port was down 6.9% for the first half of 2020, compared to the same period last year. The San Pedro Bay ports


complex -- Long Beach and LA combined -- had 104 canceled sailings in the first half of 2020 -- 37 of which were destined for Long Beach. That is up from 41 canceled sailings for both ports in the first half of 2019, Cordero


The movement of project cargo like windmill blades was robust at the Port of San Diego in 2020. (Port of San Diego photo.)


says. The second half of the year


was a different story. Cordero notes October 2020 marked the busiest month in the 109- year history of the Port of Long Beach, with 806,603 TEUs, up 17.2% from the same month in 2019. The port is investing $1.7


billion in strategic projects over the next decade to enhance marine terminal productivity, deliver greater efficiency to its customers and improve the sustainability of its operations,” says Cordero. The Middle Harbor terminal


project combined two aging shipping terminals into technologically advanced and green container terminals. The 304-acre facility operated by Long Beach Container Terminal will have the capacity to process 3.3 million TEUs annually, says Cordero. He adds in October 2020,


the port opened the $1.467 billion


Bridge Replacement


Gerald Desmond Project,


which will be higher to allow additional clearance for larger, more efficient cargo ships. “On-dock rail projects make


up the lion’s share of the port’s capital improvements over the next 10 years,” Cordero notes. He explains the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility is designed to shiſt cargo containers from trucks to rail and will allow the port to increase the share of cargo moved by on-dock rail to one-third and more. In addition, Cordero says the


Pier G-J Double Track Access project calls for adding a second 9,000-foot-long rail line between Piers G and J. The $40 million Terminal Island Wye Realignment Project will reduce switching conflicts by adding a new lead track on Pier T and two new storage tracks on Pier S.


million


The port has allocated $33 to


environmental


programs for the current fiscal year, Cordero reports. One- third is slated for pilot projects demonstrating near-zero and zero emissions cargo handling equipment and trucks. The port is pursuing these and other strategies with the goal of establishing a zero-emissions cargo-handling fleet by 2030 and transitioning the entire drayage fleet calling at the San Pedro Bay port complex to zero- emissions trucks by 2035.


Port of San Diego


Located in San Diego Bay, the port has a natural deep-water harbor, is the fourth largest port in California and one of 17 military strategic ports in the United States. Its main trade routes are South America, Europe, and Asia. “In 2020, breakbulk and


project cargo business was very robust,” reports Greg Borossay, the port’s Principal, Maritime Development.


“We received


project cargo such as wind towers, blades and turbines and our numbers for these types of cargo were normal. We had the busiest summer we’ve seen in years for this type of cargo. Borossay says the port


doesn’t anticipate a drop in breakbulk and project cargo volumes in 2021. “But if the effects of COVID-19 extend for another year, we would be negatively affected,” he adds. In addition, Borossay says


the port’s container business with Dole Fresh Fruit Company continues to do well. He says the ongoing


pandemic crisis had a somewhat delayed impact on roll on/roll off cargo as most inbound ro/ro vessels require a 15 to 30-day


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