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As the second-busiest container seaport in the United States, the port of Long Beach handles trade valued at more[ds_preview] than 200 bn $ annually and is connected to 2.6 million jobs across the nation, including more than 575,000 in Southern California, Executive Director Mario Cordero emphasizes. Following up on a record-breaking 2018, the port handled more than 7.6 million container units in 2019. »Fallout from the ongoing trade war with China will likely continue to slow cargo growth in 2020. Officials remain optimistic »that the United States and China can resolve their differences and keep their respective economies growing, evidenced by the recent announcement of a phase-one trade deal.« Trade with China accounts for nearly 70% of the imports coming into Long Beach and 40% of exports.

The Port has invested in capital projects to strengthen its competitiveness, including programmes that have opened the port’s docks to the biggest ships, its terminals to the longest trains and cleanest fleet of drayage trucks. »We’ve built a better, big-ship ready port ahead of our US competitors,« says Cordero.

Later this year, the replacement for the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge will open to traffic, providing for efficient movement of trucked cargo as well as an important route for regional commuters. »Thanks to its role in providing an important gateway in the ports complex for a significant share of imported cargo traveling to all parts of North America, the new 1.47 bn $ cable-stayed span is already known as the »bridge to everywhere,« it is emphasized.

Nearby, the Long Beach Container Terminal is in the final phase of construction to create what officials call »the greenest, most technologically advanced terminal in North America«. The 1.5 bn $ project adds on-dock rail capacity, shore power hook-ups and a longer wharf.

At final build-out in 2021, LBCT is planned to move twice the cargo of the two terminals it replaced, with far less air pollution and an annual capacity of more than 3 million cargo containers.

Another 2 bn $ in projects planned over the next decade include improvements to Port roads and channels, along with a 1 bn $ investment in a rail network. The centerpiece of the railway plan is the planned Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, which will give the Port additional room to assemble longer trains, limit truck traffic and reduce environmental impacts. Construction is scheduled to start in 2022, with the entire 870mill. $ project completed by 2032.

Each train is said to eliminate the need for up to 750 truck trips, which speeds the flow of goods across the country while reducing local road traffic.

In pursuit of its goal to become the world’s first zero-emissions seaport and along with the Port of Los Angeles, the port of Long Beach in 2006 first enacted the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy for reducing air pollution from every port-related source. »The CAAP has succeeded. Since 2005, diesel emissions at the harbor have dropped by 87%,« it is said. A recent update to the Clean Air Action Plan set a goal of shifting to zero-emissions cargo-handling equipment by 2030, and zero-emissions trucks by 2035.