California, Biden Administration to upgrade LA area ports amid supply chain crisis

To remind, the port complex of Los Angeles and Long Beach at one point had over 100 vessels that were waiting to unload amid increased traffic congestion. In fact, the massive Southern California ports are struggling to handle record volumes of inbound cargo amid shortages of truck drivers and equipment like trailers needed to haul containers from the docks to inland warehouses, rail hubs and distribution centers.

In light of the situation, California along with the Biden-Harris Administration will help line up billions of dollars in loans to modernize the infrastructure of the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports, which are currently facing backups of dozens of ships waiting to offload cargo

California’s ports and infrastructure system is key to the country’s supply chain. Thanks to our collaboration with the Biden-Harris Administration, this innovative federal-state partnership will help us fast-track those projects that will make our ports and infrastructure even more efficient. This partnership will help us jumpstart and support multiple infrastructure projects to improve our supply chain, making sure goods get to where they need to go faster, cheaper, and more environmentally-friendly.

…said Governor Newsom.

Under the agreement, both sides will help grow the economy, protect the environment, facilitate the movement of imports and exports, and bring supply chain processes into the 21st century to create resilience throughout the critical trade corridors of California and the U.S., including around San Pedro Bay and the Inland Empire.

This partnership can help kick-start construction to deliver benefits to the transportation supply chain and U.S. consumers in the future. Projects that could receive support through this agreement include:

• Port-specific upgrades;
• Expanding capacity for freight rail;
• Developing inland port facilities for increased warehouse storage;
• Railyard and truck electrification;
• Highway upgrades to improve truck travel times;
• Grade-separated crossings to reduce the number of rail-street intersections and improve safety and efficiency;
• Land ports of entry to expand trade capacity and cross-border commerce;
• Other eligible projects of critical importance identified by CalSTA.

“Having our federal and state transportation agencies working in unison to help fund infrastructure is exactly what we need,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka . “We have projects in need of funding that will reduce cargo delays, improve efficiency, reduce emissions and improve safety for waterfront workers and motorists throughout the region.”

“This federal-state partnership will ensure the creation of local infrastructure projects aimed at improving freight movement between the San Pedro Bay ports complex and distribution centers in the Inland Empire,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero . “This plan builds on our ongoing efforts to identify immediate and long-term solutions that will expedite cargo shipments and address an historic cargo surge and forecasted cargo growth.”

Both the State of California and U.S. DOT have made clear that infrastructure projects must be considered based on their potential for strengthening supply chain resilience and in a manner that addresses equity and environmental justice.

California’s recently enacted budget includes $250 million for ports, $280 million for infrastructure projects at and around the Port of Oakland, and $1.3 billion over three years for zero-emission trucks, transit buses and school buses, including the deployment of more than 1,000 zero-emission port drayage trucks.

Concluding, beginning Nov. 1, shipping companies whose cargo containers sit for longer than nine days at either of the ports will be charged “$100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container per day,” according to a statement from the Port of Long Beach.