By Karen Robes Meeks
In his State of the Port address, Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero announced that the port moved 7.54 million TEUs last year, making 2017 the busiest year in the port’s history.
That’s more than 11 percent higher than 2016, a feat some thought improbable given the impact of Hanjin’s bankruptcy on the Long Beach port, where the Korean company had made its biggest terminal investment.
Harbor Commission President Lou Anne Bynum spoke of the port’s push to find a new tenant for the former Hanjin terminal and the commission’s commitment to furthering Long Beach as an environmental leader.
"Business is once again booming, and the Commission remains committed to serving our customers and community at the Port of Long Beach," Bynum said. "We will continue to be the leading Green Port, devoted to a strategy that embraces powerful economic development and unrivaled environmental sustainability and social responsibility."
Cordero spoke of his vision for predictable, reliable, efficient and fast trade operations that will retain and grow business into the 2020s and beyond. "We must re-imagine, redesign and build a port that is second to none both environmentally and operationally," Cordero said.