Everything about Port Of Los Angeles totally explained
The
Port of Los Angeles is the busiest port in the
United States. Also called
Los Angeles Harbor and
WORLDPORT LA, the port complex occupies 7,500 acres (30 km²) of land and water along 43 miles (69 km) of waterfront. The port is located on
San Pedro Bay in the
San Pedro neighborhood of
Los Angeles, approximately 20 miles (30 km) south of
downtown. It adjoins the separate
Port of Long Beach. It employs over 16,000 people. The opening of the
Vincent Thomas Bridge in 1963 greatly improved access to
Terminal Island and allowed to increased traffic and further expansion of the port.
Port district
The
port district is an independent, self-supporting department of the government of the City of Los Angeles. The Port is under the control of a five-member Board of Harbor Commissioners appointed by the
Mayor and approved by the City Council, and is administered by an executive director.
Shipping
The
container volume was in fiscal year 2004 and in fiscal year 2003. The Port is the busiest port in the
United States by container volume, the 8th busiest
container port in the world and the 5th busiest internationally when combined with the neighboring
Port of Long Beach. The top trading partners in 2004 were
- China ($68.8 billion)
- Japan ($24.1 billion)
- Taiwan ($10.8 billion)
- Thailand ($6.7 billion)
- South Korea ($5.6 billion)
The most imported types of goods were, in order: furniture; apparel; toys and sporting goods; vehicle and vehicle parts; and electronic products.
From 2002 to the present, the Port has had a large backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded at any given time. Many analysts believe that the Port's traffic may have exceeded its physical capacity as well as the capacity of local freeway and railroad systems. The chronic congestion at the Port is beginning to cause ripple effects throughout the American economy and is disrupting
Just In Time inventory practices at many companies.
The port is served by the
Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) railroad. From the PHL the intermodal railroad cars go north to Los Angeles via the
Alameda Corridor.
Cruise ships
The Port of Los Angeles is the largest cruise ship center on the
West Coast of the United States and contains three ship berths transporting over 1 million passengers annually. The newly renovated
World Cruise Center is claimed to be "the nation's most secure cruise passenger complex". The complex has a security patrolled long term parking lot with 2560 stalls. On days when cruises depart or arrive, courtesy shuttles transport passengers and luggage between the parking lot and the terminal.
Environment
That shipping volume comes with a cost:
air pollution. Container ships burning low quality
bunker fuel idle dockside because most have no capability to connect to shore-generated electricity. Diesel-powered
semi-trailer trucks and
locomotives idle while waiting to be loaded and unloaded. The local air quality regulatory agency did a study that found that air pollution from the port is responsible for 2,000 cases of
cancer per million people (25 per million is the upper limit sought by regulators). The 47 tons of
nitrogen oxides generated daily by port marine vessels nearly equals the amount emitted by the 350 largest
factories and
refineries in the region, and that number is expected to increase 70% by
2022.
A $2.8 million Port of Los Angeles Clean Air Program (POLACAP) initiative was implemented by the Board of Harbor Commissioners in October 2002 for terminal and ship operations programs targeted at reducing polluting emissions from vessels and cargo handling equipment.
To accelerate implementation of emission reductions through the utilization of new and cleaner-burning equipment, the Port is has allocated more than $52 million in additional funding for the POLACAP through 2008.
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