b'10American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comPort of Los Angeles processed(SURGEcontinued from page 8) willlikelydeterminewhetherthis intermodaltransfersandextensiveresiliencecanbemaintainedunder customsproceduresthatpuretrans- even greater pressure.10.3 million TEUs in 2024 shipment hubs dont face.Yet despite record volumes, were By Stas Margaronis, AJOTnotseeingsignificantbottlenecks(GAINScontinued from page 8)indrayage,warehousing,orchassisannounced that the Port of Savan-At the Port of Los Angeles Statethis Portthe ones who load and unloadavailability. The rail network remainsnahisuptoeightdaysfasterfor of the Port Eugene Seroka, Executiveships and move the cargo in and out ofgenerallyfluid,thoughintermo- India cargo moving to inland markets Director, announced that in 2024, theourgateways.Withouttheircommit- dal train speeds are running slightlysuch as Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas, Port of Los Angeles moved 10.3 mil- ment and hard work, nothing gets done. below normala manageable con- compared to West Coast ports. This lion TEUs. That is our second-bestToenhancetheirskillsandstraint given the circumstances. reachincludes,Sixweeklyvessel yearinthe117-yearhistoryofthecareers, the Port has launched sev- This resilience suggests that U.S.servicesprovidedirectconnections Port of Los Angeles . and nearly aeralimportantinitiatives.Thispastport infrastructure isnt as constrainedbetween Savannah and India, while a 20%increaseinvolumeover2023.May we helped the ILWU and PMAassometimesportrayed.AsMarktotal of ten services connect Savan-In fact, we moved 1.7 million moreopenaMaintenanceandRepairSissonfromAECOMnotes,Losnah to the Indian Subcontinent. The TEUs than last year, which is the larg- Training Center on Terminal Island.Angeleshandles260,000TEUspertrend to emphasize the India connec-est incremental gain weve ever seen. This 16-million-dollar facility offers1,000 feet of wharf, compared to Van- tions is likely to only get stronger in Seroka added that the Port movedprogramstoreskillandup-skillcouvers391,000,indicatingsignifi- 2025 and beyond. all that cargo efficiently and without aILWU workers. Were committed tocant room for efficiency gains withoutHow the top US container ports single ship backed up at sea. ensuring every worker has the skillsmajor infrastructure investments. willperformin2025isdifficultto TheStateofthePortispro- to thrive in a safe environment. ThatsWhiletheU.S.portsystemisforecast with all the potential pitfalls duced by the Pacific Merchant Ship- why we are also developing the Goodsmoreadaptablethanmanygiveitahead,rangingfromtariffstoother pingAssociation(PMSA)andtookMovement Training Facility togethercreditfor,itwillbetestedagainingeo-political and economic forces and place on January 23rd at the Port ofwiththePortofLongBeach,the2025 as port strikes and shifting tradethe great unknowns of natural disas-Los Angeles with nearly 1,000 peopleILWU, PMA (Pacific Maritime Asso- patterns might fundamentally reshapeters.Butifanything,2024showed in attendance. ciation) and the California Workforcemaritimecommerceonbothcoasts.justhowresilienttheUScontainer (PROCESSEDcontinued onThe coming months, particularly withportsareinapinchandthatbodes page 14) theJanuaryILAdeadlinelooming,well in the long run.THEPORTExecutive Director Eugene Seroka, speaks atfor NATION OURthe Port of Los Angeles State of the Port SerokacitedSignificantinvest-ments by our two great Western rail-roads,UnionPacificandBNSF,to efficientlyaccommodateincreased cargo in and out of the San Pedro Bay. He also cited improved data pro-cessing: Ten years ago, we launched afirst-of-its-kindCyberSecurity Operations Center. Since then, weve remained leaders in enhancing digital security and online tools. At the heart of our data improvements is the Port Optimizer,launchedin2017.Itsa one-stop information portal that helps get goods to market in a more predict-ableandtimelymanner.Today,we provide more comprehensive real-time data through secure, channeled access than any other port in North America.r ole ofW omenSerokaalsocitedtheroleof women engineers: The Ports $73 mil-lion Pier 400 On-Dock Rail Expansion was completed almost exclusively by a team of women professionals. And ourrecent$36million TownSquare andPromenadePhaseOneproject was led entirely by women engineers. Its worth noting that across the coun-try, women make up less than 17% of all engineers. Yet here at the Port of Los Angeles, 37% of our engineeringClosestEastCoastPorttotheMidwestworkforcearewomenmorethan double the national average. On-DockIntermodalContainerTransferFacilitys uPPort ofl ongshorel aBor ,DrivingAccessto2/3oftheU.S.PopulationWithin24Hoursh arBort ruCkers anDg ooDsm ovementt rainingC enter WithinMinutestoInterstateHighwaysSerokapraisedthesupportofits dockworkers: Of course, equally vital50-FootDeepBerthsto our success. are the dedicated indi-vidualsworkingonourdocks.TheMarylandports.com 1.800.638.7519womenandmenoftheInternational LongshoreandWarehouseUnionGovernor Wes MooreMDOT Secretary Paul. J. Wiedefeld Executive Director Jonathan Daniels(ILWU) along with truckers and other waterfront workers are the heartbeat of'