Mayors Pledge New Levels of Cooperation

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia yesterday announced plans for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to collaborate on a series of initiatives designed to meet the changing dynamics of seaborne trade and the impacts of those changes on cargo flow through the nation’s largest trade gateway.

The two ports recently submitted to the Federal Maritime Commission an updated cooperative working agreement that clarifies and expands on their existing pact. The proposed update, now in a public comment period which ends this Wednesday, will enable the ports to work together on strategies that will benefit both ports in the areas of supply chain logistics and gateway marketing, as well as environment, security and legislative advocacy.

“With a tentative labor contract announced late last week, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach must collaborate and invest in the future to reach new levels of cargo efficiency and re-enforce our position as the Western Hemisphere’s trade gateway to the world,” said Mayor Garcetti. “With second-to-none infrastructure, a highly skilled labor force and unparalleled industry assets, our two ports need to work with stakeholders to promote our strengths and ensure that jobs and cargo continue to flow into Southern California.”

“Now that our ports are moving again we plan to redouble our efforts to invest in port infrastructure, increase trade and ensure that we remain the best place to do business on the West Coast,” said Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. “We are still the largest and most efficient port complex in the country.”

The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach are the largest ports in the nation, ranked first and second respectively, and combined are the ninth largest port complex in the world. The two ports handle approximately 43 percent of the nation’s total import traffic and 27 percent of its total exports. More than 3 million direct, indirect and induced jobs are related to cargo movement at the port complex. More than $30 billion in national, state and local taxes are generated from port-related trade each year.