While the ports are indeed working to speed up the flow of goods, the reality is that it will take time for the busiest port complex in the country to significantly ramp up cargo movement, port officials said after the speech, adding that no terminal operates 24/7.
The White House said Wednesday it has helped broker an agreement for the Port of Los Angeles to become a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week operation. Long Beach has operated 24 hours a day for the past three weeks.
A joint investigation by the Los Angeles Times and the news outlet Floodlight in partnership with the Guardian found that gas companies may have tried to wield influence in 2017 by paying at least 20 local residents to push for natural gas trucks during public meetings and press conferences.
The recent surge in cargo volumes at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles has caused cargo container dwell times—the time containers spend within the port complex—to increase to their highest levels in 18 months.
Air pollution out of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles has been a point of contention for years, particularly for its impact on communities of color. Both ports have developed and redeveloped plans to reduce emissions. However, the California Air Resources Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve a new rule to reduce large amounts of pollutants from ships at berth.
