The U.S. West Coast ports provide major shipping choices and access to growing U.S. and international consumer market.

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The six major U.S. West Coast ports and two western railroads joined together in mid-November 2009 at the World Shipping Summit in China. “Our purpose was to discuss and acknowledge ways to ensure that the U.S. West Coast remains the No. 1 gateway for goods movement between Asia and the U.S.,” explains Port of Oakland Executive Director Omar Benjamin, who chair­ed the U.S. West Coast Collaboration (USWCC) session. “Our goal was to com­municate to the shipping and carrier customers, and our partners, that the U.S. West Coast ports and railroads are listening.”

The six ports are located in Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; and Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif. The two western railroads that participated in the event – which took place in Qing­dao, China – were the BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad. The ports work with the maritime industry, including ocean carriers, beneficial cargo owners, and marine terminal and intermodal operators.

The effort to establish partnerships between the different entities took off earlier this year. The collaboration between the different ports and railway companies is significant because 70 percent of containerized goods between the United States and Asia come through the U.S. West Coast, Benjamin remarks. “It made sense to collaborate as opposed to compete,” he says.

“Together, we want to improve our services, and increase efficiencies and networking to better serve our customers.” USWCC members also went to Washington, D.C., this summer to call for more federal resources to help move goods efficiently between Asia and the U.S. West Coast, as well as to bring attention to the ports and rail contribution to national goods movement, which is vital for America’s role in global trade.

This is essential, as the U.S. West Coast is facing com­petition from Canada and Mexico, and is expected to face more challenges after the Panama Canal expands in 2014, Benjamin clarifies. U.S. West Coast ports offer major advantages in terms of shipping choices and access to growing U.S. and international consumer markets, according to Benjamin. “Every week, there are more than 100 ships sailing to and from the U.S. West Coast, providing access to 80 ports in 36 major consumer markets around the globe,” he explains. “And when it comes to the long-term picture, our ports will provide critical access to the American market.” American consumers are expected to grow to 228 million by 2030, he adds.

“When we traveled to Washington, D.C., we carried our message to the federal level,” Benjamin states. A national goods movement plan is essential for sustaining America’s role in global trade and more federal resources are necessary to maximize the advantages of moving goods from Asia through the U.S. West Coast. “The collaboration is creating one strong voice in our nation’s capitol advocating for investment in U.S. West Coast gateway intermodal infrastructure and promoting a strong National Goods Movement Strategy,” he adds.

Many of the ports face the same challenges, such as infrastructure, environmental issues and security, Benjamin continues, “and so it just made a lot of sense to come together,” he says. “We want to work in alignment with our sister ports on the U.S. West Coast, railroad partners and with our customers and business partners in Asia. The issues we face are not just local. Having a larger resource base to work with will make us more effective and productive.”

Green is Clean
Along with working with nearby ports, the Port of Oakland is also taking steps internally to improve its facilities and capabilities. It recently applied for a $56 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant from the Department of Transportation. The grant is being funded by the American Re­covery and Reinvestment Act, and the port will learn the result sometime between December and February.

“This is an opportunity where we can push forward and secure funding that can help create a green highway by using inland waterways to move cargo between the ports,” Benjamin comments. “It also allows us to help fund electrical shoreside power for container ships when they are docked at our port.”

Normally, ships use an auxiliary engine with diesel fuel to keep essential functions running when in port.

With shoreside power, the ship can “plug in” at the dock, thereby eliminating the pollution from diesel emissions, Benjamin explains. Building a green corridor is an important initiative for the Port of Oakland.