The Port of Long Beach has become a global leader in operational excellence, outstanding customer service, moving cargo with reliability, speed, and efficiency making it the premier U.S. gateway for trans-Pacific trade. 

As the second-busiest container seaport, the Port of Long Beach handles trade valued at $200 billion annually and supports 2.6 million trade-related jobs across the United States. This includes 575,000 in Southern California and one in five jobs in Long Beach, which is southwest of Los Angeles. 

Spanning across 3,200 acres with 31 miles of waterfront, 10 piers, 66 post-Panamax cranes, and amongst the deepest berths in the country, the port’s world-class facilities can accommodate the largest shipping vessels in the world. Goods moving through the port originate in or are destined for every U.S. congressional district. 

With a keen eye toward building a successful and sustainable future, the port is pursuing long-term capital improvement projects. In 2020, the port opened a new bridge built for the modern era of shipping and goods movement. This year, the port will complete the final phase of the world’s most technologically advanced container terminal, the Long Beach Container Terminal at Middle Harbor.

In the next 10 years, the port plans to invest $1.7 billion in modernization to further prepare for the demands of global trade. The strategy includes investing $1 billion in on-dock rail projects, aimed at substantially increasing reliability, adding capacity, strengthening competitiveness, improving speed-to-market, and allowing for the rapid movement of cargo throughout the harbor.

The Port of Long Beach operates Foreign Trade Zone 50 that lessens the impact of tariffs and eliminates Customs clearance delays by having shipments delivered directly to qualifying businesses within Orange County and parts of San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.

Additionally, the port is proactively working to handle the ongoing surge in cargo shipments brought on by consumer demand for imports. Among other measures, the port has opened STOR (Short-Term Overflow Resource yard) to provide extra near-dock space to help importers and exporters cope with the cargo volume. 

The Business Recovery Task Force, which was established just over a year ago, serves as a key internal group to work with customers, industry partners, labor and government agencies to ensure terminal and supply chain operations continue without disruption.

Added investigations for locating funds to enable a 24/7 supply chain will put the port on the same footing here in the U.S. as they are in Asia and parts of Europe.

Customers choose the Port of Long Beach for the most dependable, cost-effective and fastest delivery of goods in the world, along with the strong relationships it maintains with industry, community, environmental advocates and partner agencies. In 2020, industry leaders named it “The Best West Coast Seaport in North America” for the second consecutive year.