The Greenest, Most Automated Terminal In America Is Right Here In Long Beach.

A decade from when the project broke ground, on Friday August 20th, the Port of Long Beach hosted an event showcasing their $1.5 billion dollar investment poised to revolutionize and set the standard for container handling in the United States.

The Port’s Executive Director, Mario Cordero, spoke to the phases the construction project has gone through and delivered since construction began in May, 2011. The first phase of the project delivered 151 acres of handling just five years later. The completion of the second phase brought that total to 191 acres in 2017. The third and final phase was completed last month, increasing the total to 300 acres and includes a container yard, administration building and on-dock rail capable of handling 1.1 million TEU’s annually.

In addition to 4,200 feet of concrete wharf and fourteen ship-to-shore gantry cranes that are “big ship ready” to simultaneously handle three of the largest container ships in service, the port invested in green technology – a key component as stakeholders in ocean shipping look to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that meet not just CARB’s requirements, but wider US and global initiatives.

The terminal is equipped with nearly all electric and zero-emission equipment and ships are able to plug in with shore power when docked, a process called cold-ironing. The entire facility achieved gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) status.

Long Beach invested significantly in automation as well, knowing that the key to keeping pace with larger ships is technology that allows for the most rapid and coordinated vessel loading and unloading as well as container positioning for local pickups and rail on-forwarding.

With the launch of this new terminal and its automated processes, Alba is looking to the potential of Middle Harbor in our e-commerce and Type 86 initiatives for clients in the United States that have migrated to the ocean environment.

A combination of factors including the increase in de minimis value to $800.00 under TFTEA, the exclusion of Type 86 and Section 321 entries from 301 and 232 trade remedy duties and a significant reduction in available belly capacity on the transpacific throughout the pandemic have pushed more e-commerce into the ocean environment than ever before.

Through creative supply chain planning, companies have utilized warehouses and ports outside the United States in Canada and Mexico to supply e-commerce individual purchasers in the United States. Utilizing Long Beach and other US ports benefits the American economy because the jobs and dollars that come with trucking, devanning, stocking, picking and shipping remain local and support logistics businesses in the community.

To learn more about how Alba Wheels Up is helping U.S. and foreign e-commerce platform operators and businesses, contact us today.