CALIFORNIA PORTS: California ports need state investments in infrastructure to maintain an upper hand in competing for the state’s containerized cargo volume.
Officials from the port of Oakland visited state officials in Sacramento in late July to ask lawmakers to help stem a decline in share of containerized imports and exports, according to a news release from the port. Port officials said they want state government to help in providing infrastructure funding to Oakland, Long Beach and Los Angeles along priority trade corridors, according to the release.
“Challenges to our business are everywhere — Mexico, Canada the U.S. East Coast,” Port of Oakland executive director Chris Lytle said in the release. “We’re doing all we can to keep Oakland and other California ports the most attractive option for international shippers, but we can use your help.”
The drop in market share for the state’s ports this year was linked to a long-running labor-management dispute in the winter and stepped up competition from out of state ports and global rivals.
To react to the challenge, California Association of Port Authorities Executive Director Tim Schott said in the release that ports are striving to become more competitive. For example, the Port of Oakland is readying plans that included extended hours to off site cargo pick-up locations, he said in the release.
Lytle asked legislative leaders to consider the impact of port’s on the state’s job picture, according to the release. The Port of Oakland is responsible for more than 73,000 jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to Lytle.
