By Karen Robes Meeks
This week, leaders from nearly a dozen California ports met with state officials for California Ports Day and urged them to help ports stay competitive in a challenging global market.
“Despite the headwinds we face, including market share loss, the US-China stand-off on trade, and the uncertainty that the coronavirus has brought to global trade, California ports are well-positioned to meet these challenges because we are innovators,” said Gene Seroka, president of the California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA) and executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. “Today was a call to action for port stakeholders to align with our state leadership to make certain that our ports remain at the center of Western Hemisphere trade.”
CAPA State Director Martha Miller said the port was “about raising awareness of the economic and environmental leadership ports bring to our state.”
“The goal is to get legislators and our fellow Californians thinking about where their food, clothing, automobiles, smartphones, and maritime services come from,” she said. “The more we trade, the more we need to invest in strong and efficient ports in our state.”
