POLB Sees Busiest January & More On Electric Truck Charging Network

Port of Long Beach Has Busiest January on Record

The Port of Long Beach began the new year with its busiest January on record, boosted by efforts to successfully move aging cargo out of shipping terminals.

Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 800,943 twenty-foot equivalent units in January, up 4.8% from the same month last year. It was the first time the nation’s second-busiest seaport processed more than 800,000 TEUs in the month of January, surpassing the previous record set in January 2021.

Imports rose 6.9% to 389,334 TEUs, while exports increased 5.9% to 123,060 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the Port grew 1.8% to 288,550 TEUs.

The strong start to 2022 follows a record-breaking year for the Port of Long Beach with 9,384,368 TEUs moved in 2021.

Import activity traditionally slows down in February as overseas factories close for Lunar New Year celebrations, but this month may be busier than usual as work continues to clear the docks and reduce the number of ships waiting to enter the port.

The Port has delayed the start of a “Container Dwell Fee” that would charge ocean carriers for containers that remain too long on the docks. Still, the San Pedro Bay ports – Long  Beach and Los Angeles combined – have seen a 68% decline in aging cargo on the docks since the program was announced on Oct. 25.

Port Creating Nation’s Largest Electric Truck Charging Network

The Port of Long Beach has issued an information request to assist in creating one of the largest U.S. networks of publicly accessible electric-charging stations for the heavy duty, class 8 drayage trucks that serve the port complex.

The request asks for information on potential interest to install 100 chargers at up to four pre-identified sites. Responses are due by 4:30 p.m. March 29.

Transitioning the drayage truck fleet serving the San Pedro Bay ports to zero emissions by 2035 is a central tenet of the Clean Air Action Plan Update, or CAAP, the shipping industry’s most aggressive effort to reduce the environmental impacts of goods movement.

The first two public charging stations for heavy-duty trucks in Southern California have been installed at the Terminal Access Center on Harbor Avenue and are expected to be available for drayage truck recharging later this month.

Providing at least 100 charging stations by 2028 supports the CAAP zero-emissions goal for drayage trucks. The CAAP is a comprehensive strategy for accelerating progress toward a zero-emission future while protecting and strengthening the port’s competitive position in the global economy.

Details: www.pbsystem.planetbids.com/portal/information