Port leaders — including Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Jon Slangerup and Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Doug Drummond — also stressed that they were taking responsibility for the months of congestion that brought terminals to near gridlock and were aggressively working to prevent it from happening again.
And they made the case to shippers that Southern California is still the best gateway to bring their cargo through because of sailing frequency, intermodal rail connections, and nearby industrial real estate, among other factors.
Although both ports run under a landlord model where each marine terminal handles its own stevedoring, Seroka said he stressed during the D.C. meetings that he envisions a hybrid approach that encompasses the more hands-on approach of operating ports. Los Angeles is already moving toward this hybrid model by working with the three largest chassis-leasing companies with their formation of a “gray pool” and offering land for a container free-flow operation.
