The Port of L.A. visited with the Chamber’s Manufacturing Roundtable on Monday, January 24th to hear a long-awaited update on the status of imports and the supply chain, which have been disrupted for much of the Pandemic, due to a number of reasons.
Colbrit Manufacturing hosted the Roundtable at its factory on Owensmouth. Their specialty falls in five major categories, including Engineering Services, Process Automation, Tool & Die Mold Making, Precision Metal Stampings, and CNC/EDM Machining. Thank you to Lee Cruz and his team for welcoming the Chamber!
Erick Martell from the Port of L.A. said that despite last year’s disruptions in the supply chain, the Port is looking to return to normal operations in 2022. With 3 million Port-related jobs, the Pandemic led to trucker and warehouse labor shortages, less container availability, and created a bottleneck of ships containing critical goods and supplies needed for local companies, especially in manufacturing.
Tarriffs instituted on several U.S. imports during 2018-19 also led to disruptions in the global supply chain that were further exacerbated by the Pandemic’s onset in late 2019. A significant increase in online consumer spending in 2020 also contributed to the bottleneck of ships in and out of the Port. More products were being purchased online by U.S. consumers than ever before. In 2021, the Port of L.A. began 24/7 operations to alleviate the bottleneck of cargo ships anchored off the Pacific coast. Even with 24-hour operations, the Port’s ability to move goods remains hampered by a trucker shortage.
The Ports of L.A. and Long Beach continue to institute the Clean Action Plan, “a landmark air quality plan to reduce port-related air pollution and related health risks, while allowing port development, job creation and economic activity associated with that development to continue.” The plan includes several anti-air pollution strategies including the ports’ Clean Trucks Programs, vessel pollution reduction programs, and advanced new technology, such as the world’s first hybrid tugboat. The plan was originally adopted in 2006, with updates in 2010 and 2017.
Jill Mather of Volunteers Cleaning Communities discussed her organization’s efforts to clean-up the Valley since Sept 2020. Organizing up to 5 pick-ups a week, VCC removed 30 tons of trash in 2021, including the homeless encampments previously located on Devonshire and Balboa in Granada Hills. VCC is also working with local businesses to keep their parking lots and entrances clean. See information below about VCC’s next community clean-up on Feb. 27 or visit www.volunteerscleaningcommunities.com!
