Officials from the Port of Los Angeles and Japan External Trade Organization Los Angeles Office (JETRO Los Angeles) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further promote cooperation in several key strategic areas, including sustainability, environmental initiatives and supply chain optimization.
Working together, Los Angeles and JETRO can show the world that we have the power to make sustainable and inclusive progress on goods movement,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Today’s agreement is rooted in our shared goals: To bring our businesses and ports closer together, and to collaborate around sustainable ways to optimize our supply chains
In addition, Japan Consul General Sone noted that “this agreement is built upon the goodwill and trust Japan and Los Angeles have achieved through our collaboration over many years, in many areas.”
This agreement with JETRO Los Angeles will allow our Port to further advance innovation and cooperation around supply chain optimization and sustainable technologies, as well as build stronger relationships with the government of Japan, its ports and cutting-edge Japanese companies
stated Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.
“The MOU calls on the Port of Los Angeles and JETRO Los Angeles to work closely on strategies related to environmental sustainability, including collaboration and best practice sharing on zero-emission vehicle and equipment testing and deployment; use of alternative energy sources; and cooperation on other emerging terminal, ship and truck environmental initiatives. JETRO Los Angeles has also agreed to facilitate introductions to Japanese companies for the Port to potentially enlist their expertise and help on environmental and zero-emission initiatives,” JETRO Los Angeles Chief Executive Director Osamu Taki, explained.
To improve supply chain efficiency, under the MOU the Port will also be sharing best practices and lessons learned related to its Port Optimizer digital community system.
Created in 2017, the Port Optimizer was the first port community system and single portal digital platform in the U.S. focused specifically on enhancing supply chain performance through real-time, data-driven insights for cargo planning, forecasting and tracking.
