LOS ANGELES — After breaking yet another record for handling 10.7 million shipping containers in 2021, the Port of Los Angeles is embarking on several improvements to ensure its continued success.

On Thursday, Executive Director Gene Seroka announced a new Goods Movement Training Campus and new Cyber Resilience Center along with upgrades to its digital data system and an increase in zero-emissions trucks.

“The future depends on the choices we make today,” Seroka said during the annual State of the Port event. “These are difficult times. All around us, we see the toll these past few years have taken. Still, we must deliver on our purpose. Great change is always preceded by great challenge, but that transformation is not automatic. We have to take action. That’s why this is our defining moment.”

Seroka intends to leverage unprecedented state and federal funding commitments for the upgrades. The Port of LA is expecting much of the $17 billion allocated for ports in the $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Law President Biden signed last November. It will also benefit from the $2.3 billion California Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked for ports and the supply chain system in the preliminary state budget he released last week.

“Ports are not just about imports but being on the leading and cutting edge of workforce development and environmental stewardship,” Newsom said during the State of the Port webcast.

About half of the funding the governor earmarked for ports and the supply chain in his 2022-2023 California budget are earmarked for improvements at the ports of LA and Long Beach, which together handle 40% of the nation’s imports. Much of the rest is for zero-emissions vehicles and workforce training, including $110 million for the Port of LA’s Goods Movement Training Campus — the first training center of its kind in the country.

The training center will focus on developing worker skills, as well as up-skilling and re-skilling workers, so they can adapt to the shipping industry’s evolving needs. The center will also train workers in green and zero-emissions technologies.

As part of the Clean Air Action Plan the port announced in 2017, 100% of the 12,000 trucks that operate there must be zero-emissions by 2035. The port is currently testing 107 zero-emissions vehicles and has another 27 “near-zero-emissions units” in operation. Seroka expects that number will grow to 200 over the next 18 months as half a dozen manufacturers deploy clean trucks in and around the port.

Starting in April, the Port of LA will begin implementing a clean truck fee that will charge diesel truck operators for using the facility and channel the proceeds toward zero-emissions trucks. The program is estimated to bring in $130 million during its first three years.

The port is modernizing in other ways, as well. On Thursday, Seroka announced a first-of-its-kind cyber defense system is now in operation at the Port. Developed with IBM, the Cyber Resilience Center is an early warning and information sharing system for port users.

“The CRC hub lets users analyze and share cyber threat indicators and defense measures to protect their systems,” Seroka said. “Now more than ever, we need to protect our digital systems from cyber attack.” 

The Port of LA is currently the only port in the nation to use a digital data system that delivers real-time shipping information to cargo owners and service providers so they can better manage their operations, such as prioritizing seasonal cargo ahead of less time-sensitive goods.

While the Port of LA leads the nation is digitization, Seroka said, “It doesn’t work for just one port in the U.S. to unlock the power of digitization. All major U.S. ports must be connected and interoperable,” similar to the nation’s electrical grid and the global air traffic control system. “We must have it in our national port logistics network in order to identify and address supply chain issues as they happen."

This year, the port plans to work with the Biden Administration on a national port data system to help “untangle the complexity of the global supply chain,” Seroka said. “Shared data makes us all more competitive, and we owe it to our nation to make that happen.”