The Port of Long Beach is addressing congestion issues head-on by facilitating solutions.   As the landlord of the second-largest port in the US, the Harbor Department continues to identify the key issues with our tenants and other key stakeholders to seek solutions as quickly as possible. "This issue is on the top of my list right now," said Jon Slangerup, Chief Executive of the Port of Long Beach. "I have convened a high-level Congestion Relief Team to meet daily, seek solutions, and solicit feedback from our staff in the field." In conjunction with the Congestion Relief Team, Port field staff is meeting regularly with customers and stakeholders to listen to their concerns, collaborate on solutions, and monitor performance. A surge of larger ships has taxed terminals at ports around the world to move cargo faster. Locally, Port of Long Beach staff has already identified one of the challenges. "There is a chassis imbalance," said Dr. Noel Hacegaba, the Port’s Chief Operating Officer. "This is a big part of the congestion issue and I have been facilitating discussions with the key players to find relief as soon as possible." In addition to the near-term solutions and immediate discussions to move cargo as quickly as possible, the Port team is also seeking a discussion agreement with the Federal Maritime Commission to have substantive discussions with the Port of Los Angeles on common issues of concern – namely congestion. The Board of Harbor Commissioners, the governing body of the Port, has also established a subcommittee chaired by Commission Vice President Rich Dines, working with Commissioner Lori Ann Farrell, to focus on port efficiency. "Nobody benefits from congestion, but everybody wins when cargo crosses our gateway as efficiently and as fast as possible," said Dr. Hacegaba. "That’s why I am positive we will find productive and efficient ways to move cargo and relieve congestion." Chief Executive Slangerup committed to issuing regular updates to customers and stakeholders to demonstrate our transparency and commitment to our business partners. "We will do everything we can bring our partners who operate and work at the terminals together to identify bottlenecks and implement solutions."