LONG BEACH, Calif. — Public access to the ports is limited due to COVID-19, but the Port of Long Beach has found an alternate and physically distant way to connect with the community.
The port is helping to put on a free drive-in movie series.
Reservations are required to attend the Twilight Cinema showings and open at 9 a.m. one week before the movie date.
These outreach events give the community a snapshot of how the port is doing.
Movie schedule:
Friday, Aug. 21 – Toy Story 4 – Convention Center
Tuesday, Aug. 25 – Sonic the Hedgehog – Granada Beach
Friday, Aug. 28 – Frozen II – Convention Center
Sunday, Sept. 6 – Onward – Convention Center
Coronavirus forced the cancellation a lot of the summer events the port typically hosts, such as the harbor tours, as well as community meetings.
The Port of Long Beach’s executive director Mario Cordero said he is optimistic.
“I think we’re doing fairly well so obviously we’re in crisis mode here as a nation and as a port,” Cordero said.
In June longshoremen moved close to 600,000 twenty-foot long cargo containers. It sounds like a lot but that’s an 11 percent dip compared to June 2019. Imports shrank 9.3 percent and exports dropped 12.2 percent this summer.
Perhaps the most troubling number is 104. That’s how many sailings were canceled in the first half of this year for both the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. In contrast, there were only 41 sailings during the first half of last year.
It will take several years to fully recover.
“Well actually, I think the recession has been worse than many of us thought,” Cordero said.
Drive-ins are considered a thing of the past. It’s unclear when this economic low point will be too.