On Monday, West Coast ports saluted waterfront workers and maritime industry employees in honor of Western Hemisphere Ports Day, which this year was themed “Celebrating Our Workforce.”
“I am proud to announce the sixth annual Western Hemisphere Ports Day in celebration of our vital port workforce all across the Western Hemisphere,” said Christopher J. Connor, president and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities. “These frontline heroes have often gone underappreciated, yet throughout the pandemic worked tirelessly to ensure the delivery of goods to grocery stores, businesses, and medical care facilities in our communities, at major personal risk.”
The AAPA encouraged others to pay homage to those who move essential goods throughout the Americas and their role in powering the economy, especially in a pandemic. In 2018, international trade handled at ports in the Western Hemisphere accounted for close to 4.2 billion metric tons in volume and $3.7 trillion in value, according to IHS Markit’s GTA Forecasting.