In a bid to oust congestion at its port, the Port of Los Angeles Harbor commission has awarded a US$44.6 million contract to Manson Construction Company for a two-year construction project that aims to improve the 185-acre Yusen Terminals at the Port of Los Angeles, which will include berth improvements and other work, according to the Long Beach Press Telegram.
PTI previously reported on strike action at a number of US West Coast ports that led to them being shutdown and therefore intensifying congestion issues.
To read a Technical Paper on congestion by the Port of Long Beach's CCO, Noel Hacegaba, click here
Thomas E. Perez, US Labor Secretary, said: “We have a tremendous set of opportunities here. Los Angeles and Long Beach are indeed the gateway to, really, the future of trade in America.”
Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, said: “This project consists of strategic improvements to make Yusen a more agile terminal and strengthen our competitive edge.”
The strikes led to a significant drop in Los Angeles’ volumes at the beginning of 2015, with serious congestion mounting with the containers that were arriving at the port.
Concerns were raised as to whether the backlog of containers could cleared, with some estimating that it could take as long as three months.
The Port of Los Angeles installed the help of gate scheduling provider Pier Pass to handle congestion issues, and was able to achieve a 46% increase in container movements in the first half of March, 2015.
Issues could still continue unabated, with Drewry arguing that even if congestion issues are resolved, USWC ports will still be losing trade to the USEC – a trend that was seen before strike action took precedence.
