Port of LA Gets $8 Million to Upgrade Port Technology
The Port of Los Angeles received nearly $8 million from the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), according to a July 16 press release. The award was the largest of five grants totaling $27 million to improve data and supply chain functionality across California’s port network.
“This GO-Biz funding will help the Port of Los Angeles accelerate our proven technology, the Port Optimizer, to further improve efficiency, lower impacts on our communities and make us more competitive,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “We’re grateful to the state of California and GO-Biz for being the first state to step up with policy and funding to enhance supply chain digitalization.”
First introduced in 2017 and the only port community data platform of its kind in operation in North America, the Port Optimizer is a cloud-based information portal that digitalizes maritime shipping data for cargo owners and supply chain stakeholders through a secure single access point. By integrating data from across the port ecosystem, the portal enables ports and the supply chain to operate more efficiently and helps cargo owners bring their goods to market in a more predictable and timely manner.
The $8 million GO-Biz grant will accelerate the development and deployment of three new enhancement tools for the Port Optimizer.
The grant will expand enhancements to the Port’s truck appointment system, currently under development. Specifically, the grant will enable interoperability with the Port of Long Beach allowing bay-wide coverage for a new universal truck appointment system that will improve the ease of identifying, moving and managing containers across the entire San Pedro Bay port complex.
It will also provide funding for the development of a new California Ports Mobile Application (CalPorts) providing mobile access to the Port Optimizer and other port dashboards when available. CalPorts will make it easier for California ports to send and receive data on items like cargo status, which will help reduce supply chain disruptions and allow stakeholders to better anticipate operational issues. CalPorts will also provide the capability for sharing environmental performance and port security data, among other information.
Another enhancement to the Port Optimizer will be the addition of a single, online gateway for collecting carbon impacts of port operations. The gateway, once developed, will provide users a near real-time Green Asset Score based on rail, trucking, vessel, and on-port equipment particulate and GHG emissions. Using this score, the gateway will help Port Optimizer stakeholders select more optimal routes that balance cargo speed and emissions impacts.
“We’re thrilled that this GO-Biz grant to the Port of Los Angeles will help fund three new components to its well-established Port Optimizer technology,” said GO-Biz Director and Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom, Dee Dee Myers. “Our state’s ports are critical to the stability of our national and global supply chains, and these historic grants will allow California ports and its stakeholders to benefit from its data sharing capabilities.”
