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Port Improvement Plan (PIP)

June 3, 2022

Overview of the Port

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I have selected the Port of Los Angeles for Port Improvement Plan. The Port's

headquarters are in California, United States. The Port is constructed on 7500 acres of land, with

3300 acres being water (Port 101: About the port of Los Angeles, n.d). It was founded in 1907

and currently has about 1300 employees. It has ranked continuously as the leading container port

since 2000. The governing board for the Port of Los Angeles is the Los Angeles Board of Harbor

Commissioners (Port 101: About the Port of Los Angeles, n.d). The Mayor of Los Angeles

selects members for the board. It operates within the Marine Shipping and Transportation sector.

The Port offers passenger and cargo terminal services and warehouse facilities (Port of Los

Angeles Company Profile, n.d). The Executive Director at the Port is Eugene Seroka, while the

Chief Information Officer is Lance Kaneshiro (Port of Los Angeles Company Profile, n.d). Its

development has contributed to the economy's growth at local, state and national levels. Areas

such as commerce, tourism and industry have improved.

The Port of Los Angeles is one of the leading ports in the United States in terms of

demand. Over the past few years, the Port has witnessed a rising consumer demand for handling

containers. As of 2020, container handling at the Port had increased by 21.96%, an equivalent of

9,079,561 TEU (Turner, 2022). With increased container handling, congestion challenges

emerged. As part of handling congestion, the ports collaborated with Long Beach Port to

introduce Container Dwell Fee that charged carriers for staying long at the Port.

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Fig 1: Port of Los Angeles. Source: https://www.ship-technology.com/wp-

content/uploads/sites/8/2017/10/1-port-of-la.jpg

Strategic Goals of Port of Los Angeles

The Port's mission is to be the global leader in the design, planning, maintenance,

construction and security of ports. One of its strategic goals is proper land utilization (Strategic

plan report- the Port of Los Angeles, n.d). Throughout the readings, it has become open that

attractive ports utilize their land appropriately to meet the rising consumer demands. Several

actions are taken to achieve the goals, including developing a land-use plan, modernization of

fishing activities and maximization of water-dependent uses at waterfront facilities.

The second strategic goal focuses on maximizing the efficient utilization of various

facilities to improve port operations. The port management aims to maximize efficiency and

increase the holding capacity of the Port's infrastructure to accommodate the rise in consumer

demands (Strategic plan report- the Port of Los Angeles, n.d). Part of the action taken to

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accomplish the goal is developing a decade-long improvement plan at the Port. Also, boating

activities in parts of the Port, such as Wilmington and San Pedro, have been improved.

The third strategic goal intends to maintain the Port's status as a regional commercial hub.

The goal requires the board management to identify the appropriate infrastructure that can

support safety and the environment and ease the movement of vessels (Strategic plan report- the

Port of Los Angeles, n.d). Different studies to guide the port management in advancing its

transport infrastructure are underway. In addition, the Port is also focused on environmental

safety. The management aims at making the Port one greenest by raising environmental

standards (Strategic plan report- the Port of Los Angeles, n.d). Part of the initiatives taken to

accomplish the environmental goal is implementing the Air Action Plan (AAP) and integrating

Sustainability Ethics into port operations.

Other strategic goals include technology, operations, safety and security, and enhancing

community relations with the surrounding residents. The Port of Los Angeles aims to use energy

sources that reduce environmental pollution while also implementing technologies that support

efficiency (Strategic plan report- the Port of Los Angeles, n.d). Regarding port safety and

security, the port management has expanded Port Police personnel to facilitate the port

operations. Further, the management has constructed new police substations to accommodate

more security personnel that can help in improving security at the Port. In advancing community

relations, the Port works with the City Department to enhance the partnership between residents

and Los Angeles Port (Strategic plan report- the Port of Los Angeles, n.d). Moreover, a

community advisory committee provides guidelines on how community participation in the port

activities should be undertaken. The Port of Los Angeles holds different events to enhance

community engagement and participation in port activities.

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Strengths and Weaknesses: Port of Los Angeles

One of its strengths is that it is an attractive hub for consumers. The port has been ranked

the busiest seaport in the United States since 2000. In 2018 alone, the Port handled cargo

amounting to 9.5 million TEU (The Port of Los Angeles, 2019). Secondly, the Port boasts

passenger and cargo terminals. Therefore, it provides passenger services and also handles diverse

products. The third strength is its strategic location that s next to rail services. An extensive

intermodal rail connects the Port to other economic areas in the United States, such as Chicago

and Columbus (The Port of Los Angeles, 2019). The last strength is environmental

consciousness. The Port is determined toward environmental safety, as seen by its strategic

objective.

One of the weaknesses at the Port is congestion. As the number of containers at the port

increases, a backlog of containers has become a perennial problem. The second weakness at the

Port is clearance time (Lopez, 2021). According to the reports, the flow speed of cargo at the

Port of Los Angeles is low and needs intervention. Challenges are also witnessed in data

management that results in delay in the supply and distribution chain. According to the Port's

Executive Director, Seroka, some cargo ships may take up to eleven days to be unloaded, which

raises the Port's operational costs (Lopez, 2021). Lastly, a poor schedule has had negative

impacts on port operations. Due to schedule misalignment, some employees have to work for

more hours.

Metrics used at the Port

Port management uses different metrics to measure port performance annually. One of

the metrics used is gross domestic revenue. The indicator is measured annual to determine an

increase or decrease in port earnings. Other metrics are annual TEUS, containers, break bulk,

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cruise passenger, liquid bulk and vehicles. The container volume is measured in TEUs, Break

Bulk in tons, and Liquid bulk in barrels, while vehicles are measured in units.

Implemented Initiatives and Improvements needed

One of the initiatives taken by the Port to reduce congestion is incentivizing efficiency.

Under the initiative, port users commit to dual transactions where every import delivered at the

Port gets a free container (Lopez, 2021). The second initiative taken by the Port to address slow

cargo flow speed is using inland pop-up sites that can be used to ground containers temporarily

(Lopez, 2021). Other initiatives taken by the port management include embracing environmental

protection by implementing environmentally friendly initiatives such as Air Action Plan.

Despite these efforts to enhance operations at the Port, port management can make some

improvements. One of the needed advancements is using smart technology. The Port should

automate operations to ensure quick unloading of commodities at the Port. Smart technologies

can also contribute to reducing air pollution. The second advancement needed at the Port is

automating clearance processes at the Port. Currently, port users incur more dwelling charges

because their vessels stay at the Port for long days than expected. However, with a quick

clearance process and automated technologies to load and unload vessels, the Port will attain

efficiency.

Next step to improve the Port

The next step in improving the Port of Los Angeles is investing in infrastructure

development. According to available data, consumer demand at the Port increased by over 21%

in 2020 (Turner, 2022). In 2018, goods handled at the Port totalled 9.5 million TEUs (Lopez,

2021). With the expansion of key marine transport routes such as the Panama Canal, the Port of

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Los Angeles must modernize its infrastructure. The new infrastructure developed at the ports

should be able to handle additional containers and support large ships and containers.

The second step that the Port of Los Angeles needs to undertake is investing in smart

technologies. Ports like Rotterdam continue to be the leaders in Marine transport because of how

they have embraced technology (Lopez, 2021). Activities at the Port such as packing and

unloading vessels should be automated. Further, the port management can enhance clearance

processes using technology. The last step is proper data management. The Port can capitalize on

data analytics to improve its operations. The Port's Executive Director reported that Los Angeles

has yet to utilize data properly (Lopez, 2021). However, more benefits will be realized if the

process is improved through data analytic tools.

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References

Lopez, E. (2021, October 15). 7 challenges lie ahead for the Port of La to support 24/7 supply

chains. Supply Chain Dive. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from

https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/24-7-ports-envoy-Los-Angeles-adoption-

barriers/608256/

Port 101: About the Port of Los Angeles: Port of Los Angeles. Port 101 | About the Port of Los

Angeles | Port of Los Angeles. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2022, from

https://www.portoflosangeles.org/about/port-

101#:~:text=Located%20along%2043%20miles%20of,liquid%20bulk%2C%20and%20w

arehouse%20facilities

The Port of Los Angeles – Your Gateway to Transpacific Trade. DB Schenker. (2019, April 8).

Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://nowthatslogistics.com/the-port-of-los-angeles-your-

gateway-to-transpacific-trade/

Port of Los Angeles Company Profile: Management and Employees List. Datanyze. (n.d.).

Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.datanyze.com/companies/port-of-los-

angeles/85000745

Strategic plan report front cover – the Port of Los Angeles. yumpu.com. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2,

2022, from https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/25443180/strategic-plan-report-

front-cover-the-port-of-los-angeles

Turner, J. (2022, February 4). Top 5 ports in the United States 2021. Port Technology

International. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.porttechnology.org/news/top-5-

ports-in-the-united-states/

Commented [KC2I69]: You need to support your details with all you references to reinforce you discussions!

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