Los Angeles, Long Beach Host Talks on Supply Chain Improvements

The impact of massive ships and major liner alliances on port operations and steps aimed at addressing that impact have been high on the agenda of the Los Angeles and Long Beach Port Supply Chain Optimization Forum co-hosted by the Southern Californian port leaders on April 22nd.

The forum gathered over 70 representatives from various groups of supply-chain stakeholders in the East-West trades at a time when Californian ports witness productivity rise at epic levels.

Jon Slangerup, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Long Beach, said that the two ports have already discussed this issue with liner companies, including most recently G6 leaders.

“They understand exactly the impact that these alliance are having, with the big ships calling on the receiving ports. They are more then willing to work with us and we just need to figure it out. However, at the same time there are other realities we have to deal with because block stowage on these massive vessels, calling on multiple-origin ports is no easy task, so we also have to think about what we can do on our side to accommodate those massive ships and the changes that have come with them,” he explained.

According to Slangerup, a very collaborative effort will be required, including the contribution from labor representatives, in moving forward with this issue.

The discussion at the forum included steps to be taken in order to improve and enhance the congestion-plagued supply chain suffering from lack of advanced infrastructure.

Commenting on the next steps, Gene Seroka, Executive Director of Port of Los Angeles, stressed that land use opportunities are being created and that terminal operators and trucking communities are taking advantage of those opportunities.

Among key issues to be resolved, Seroka stressed the need for information technology system that would provide information on the exact location of containers at a given time.

In conclusion, more work needs to be done in attaining accountability and cost management, along with a succinct reform in all aspects of port operations, the ultimate goal being raising the bar for cargo operations and thus attracting more cargo to the ports.

World Maritime News Staff