This Long Beach Post photo shows that in 2008, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles handled nearly triple the cargo of any other harbor region in the US. Click on the image to read the Post's account of the panel discussion.
A panel of experts said on Wednesday night that the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are very well equipped to maintain or increase their levels of imported volume in the near future, and that they are likely not at risk of losing business when the Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2014.
While panelists on Wednesday night said that the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are already far and away more advanced in both infrastructure and capacity than east coast ports, this warning of losing business and the necessity to expand had become a mantra in recent years. If we want to keep our business, they said, we need to build. So they did.