Watch: California ‘State of the Port’ Priorities for 2025

“Today we celebrate a remarkable milestone: 25 years—a quarter century—as the busiest container port in the Western Hemisphere,” the Port of Los Angeles’ Gene Seroka told attendees of the tenth annual State of the Port event on Jan. 23 (watch below). “This achievement is a testament to our shared dedication and hard work.”

After acknowledging ongoing wildfire recovery and relief efforts under way across Los Angeles, Seroka pointed to the successes of 2024, which the Port will build on in 2025.

The Port finished last year by processing more than 10.3 million container units. That reflects a nearly 20% increase over 2023 and marks the second-best year in the Port’s 117-year history, Seroka said. “We moved more than 1.7 million more container units last year, which is the largest incremental year-on-year gain that we’ve ever seen,” he reported. “And because of you, we moved that cargo efficiently and without a single ship backed up. That’s the kind of traffic that’s driven here. And it’s because of a strong U.S. economy with robust imports and exports; the best labor force bar none in the world on the docks and on the roads; significant investments by our two great western railroads, the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway to efficiently accommodate increased cargo in and out of the San Pedro Bay. Unparalleled infrastructure and great data drive even better performance.“

Seroka in his address focused on “people, planet and performance.“

People

Emphasizing the need to prioritize people and workforce development, Seroka highlighted the Port’s recently launched $16 million ILWU-PMA Maintenance and Repair Training Center on Terminal Island, and the ongoing development of a new Goods Movement Training Facility. Both focus on the “re-skilling and up-skilling” of workers serving the Port.

Seroka recognized the importance of bringing future talent to the industry, announcing two educational initiatives: one with UCLA, which focuses on advancing “clean technology,” and another with the California Community College system, which seeks to prepare students for future maritime industry jobs, particularly careers focused on decarbonization and environmental stewardship.

Additionally, Seroka discussed the importance of investing in communities, noting the Port’s half-billion-dollar investment in the LA Waterfront made over the past decade, including the San Pedro Promenade project and the Wilmington Waterfront Promenade. The West Harbor development is slated to open in 2025, he said.

According to Seroka, such investments have led to an increase in cruise travel, with the Port’s cruise business doubling over the past decade. The Port is expecting 2025 to be a record cruise year with more than 1.5 million passengers, he noted.

Planet

Seroka addressed the environment, noting that at the Port, diesel particulate matter is down 91% and sulfur oxides have been reduced by 98% since 2005, even with simultaneous cargo growth of 15% over the same period. (For more, read: For Port of LA, ‘Broad Gains in Clean Air Progress’)

The Port is now set on a “more aggressive” path to a zero-emission (ZE) future, according to Seroka. “Our goal isn’t fewer emissions; it’s zero emissions,” he said. “It’s about setting a new standard for ports worldwide, proving that economic growth and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand.”

Among the initiatives under way to achieve this goal, Seroka reported: ramping up the number of ZE trucks in service at the Port; investing $640 million in new ZE cargo handling equipment, trucks and charging stations; moving ahead with the Port’s Hydrogen Hub project, focused on producing ZE terminal cargo handling equipment; and creating “Green Shipping Corridors” with ports around the world to decarbonize the vessel-side of the maritime industry. He added that work has started on a $500 million improvement project with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power that will allow the Port to handle more “electric equipment” and “clean shore power operations” in the future.

Performance

In addition to announcing 2024 cargo volume, Seroka discussed initiatives contributing to improved performance and efficiencies at the Port. These include the recently completed $73 million Pier 400 On-Dock Rail Expansion project—which he noted was completed “almost exclusively by a team of women professionals”—and another similar rail expansion currently under way at Fenix Marine Pier 300.

Seroka reiterated the importance of using data to improve performance. He discussed how the Port has been able to build on its Port Optimizer™, which was first introduced in 2017 with Wabtec to provide Port stakeholders real-time data and cargo planning capabilities. “It’s a one-stop information portal that helps get goods to market in a more predictable and timely manner,” Seroka said. He announced that the platform’s latest feature, the Universal Trucking Appointment System, allows nearly 20,000 truckers serving the Port to digitally manage terminal appointments, improving workflow. Phase 2 of the launch will allow integration with the Port of Long Beach.

“It’s up to all of us to create a Port that’s better for people, better for the planet, and better for performance,” concluded Seroka.

In a prepared statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass commented: “The City is moving forward on a massive recovery effort to rebuild homes, businesses and communities, and we must also ensure the Port of Los Angeles remains well positioned to move essential goods for this effort. I am confident this will be the case—the busiest port in America is a leader that continues to break cargo records while simultaneously driving air emissions down to 20-year lows. My appreciation to all who made these accomplishments possible and who contributed to the Port’s success. I especially want to thank the members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union for getting the job done every day.”

The State of the Port event was hosted by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, with all proceeds supporting two local non-profit organizations: EXP, which focuses on next-generation maritime workforce development, and the International Seafarers Center, which provides and maintains facilities and services for merchant seamen calling at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to the Port of Los Angeles. Additionally, guests were encouraged to support those affected by the Los Angeles-area wildfires by offering support at lacity.gov/lastrong.

Port of Long Beach

The Port of Long Beach is accomplishing its environmental, operational, and commercial goals and setting its sights on further achievements in the years ahead, CEO Mario Cordero said during his eighth annual State of the Port address on Jan. 16.

The Port’s record-setting 2024, he noted, included 9.6 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) moved without disruptions or backlogs. According to the Port, this is up 20.3% from a year earlier and up 2.8% from the previous record of more than 9.3 million TEUs moved in 2021. Imports in 2024 rose 24.3% to 4,729,552 TEUs and exports declined 5.9% to 1,207,036 TEUs compared with 2023. Empty containers moving through the Port were up 26.6% to 3,713,137 TEUs.

The Port in December moved 861,006 TEUs, up 21.3% from the prior-year period and surpassing the previous record set in December 2020 by 5.5%. Imports jumped 23.9% to 412,876 TEUs and exports were down 2.8% to 100,792 TEUs from December 2023. Empty containers moving through the Port increased 27.3% to 347,338 TEUs.

According to the Port, December also marked its seventh consecutive monthly year-over-year cargo increase. Additionally, the fourth-quarter was the Port’s busiest overall with 2,732,351 TEUs moved between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, breaking by 4% the previous record set during third-quarter 2024.

Cordero said in his State of the Port address that the Port is making progress in transitioning operations to zero emissions, while marking air quality improvements.

“For those in 2005 who questioned our environmental resolve, the data shows otherwise,” Cordero reported. In January 2005, the Long Beach Harbor Commission adopted the Green Port Policy “as a promise to reduce harmful impacts from port operations and safeguard the health of people living in Long Beach and surrounding communities, protect wildlife and the natural habitat, and engage the community to ensure that the Port lives up to these commitments,” according to the Port. It has resulted in a range of sustainability initiatives that resulted in a “cleaner harbor, industry-leading green building practices, and most notably, air quality improvements resulting from reductions in emission,” it noted. So far, diesel emissions are down by 92%, nitrogen oxides by 71%, sulfur oxides by 98%, and greenhouse gases by 17% since 2005.

“The Green Port Policy was the result of a grassroots movement at its very best,” Long Beach Harbor Commission President Bonnie Lowenthal said during her speech at the State of the Port event. “It was and still is about improving quality of life and being responsive to the needs of our residents and neighboring communities.”

Cordero said the Port in 2024 continued to build on its “Green Port legacy” through several projects:

• It started construction on the $1.567 billion Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility. The project Cordero said, “will double the footprint of the existing rail yard from 82 to 171 acres, and more than triple the Port’s capacity for on-dock rail [from 1.5 million] to 4.7 million TEUs per year.”
• Toyota Motor North America and FuelCell Energy partnered with the Port to open the “Tri-gen” system to generate renewable hydrogen, electricity and water to support Toyota’s operations in Long Beach.

Cordero also reported that the Pacific Harbor Line, the San Pedro Bay’s switching railroad, “continued to demonstrate its ‘Joule’ zero-emissions locomotive. As we seek zero, it’s crucial to test these new technologies.”

Meanwhile, he said, “our supply chain information highway project has continued its development and made significant strides in providing transparency to stakeholders across the supply chain.” Cordero announced that the project, which will help speed cargo deliveries across the nation, “has begun exchanging data with Union Pacific Railroad to maximize its operations, and we have started data-sharing discussions with BNSF Railway as well. We expect both of our national rail partners to be involved in the supply chain information highway in 2025.”

Representatives from the California State Lands Commission and the ports of Long Beach and Humboldt ceremonially signed a memorandum of understanding during the State of the Port event, securing an agreement to collaborate on port infrastructure upgrades needed to support offshore wind projects statewide.

In a related development, the Port said an “environmental review is under way and community input continues to be gathered for Pier Wind, a proposed 400-acre terminal to assemble massive 1,100-foot-high floating offshore wind turbines that would be towed 20 to 30 miles off the coast of Central and Northern California.” It noted that in addition to helping California meet its clean-energy goals, a recent preliminary economic impact report found that Pier Wind could generate $8 billion in labor income, $14.5 billion in economic output, and $1.3 billion in state and local taxes between now and 2045.