California Loses Dominance in Ports as Cargo Shifts to the East
🚢 California Loses Dominance in Ports as Cargo Shifts to the East.
California's $2.8tn freight industry is facing a threat as Southern California's ports are losing their dominance due to the pandemic's cargo crush pushing the ports close to breaking point. This has caused ports from New York-New Jersey to Houston to grow their market share, leading to a gradual shift that is being supercharged by simmering West Coast port labor talks, the near-shoring of factory production amid rising tensions with China, and US population growth shifting to the Sunbelt states. Additionally, the decline in market share for the West Coast has accelerated since the pandemic, leading to concerns that the LA-Long Beach docks may struggle to stay the US’s No. 1 ocean gateway over the long run.
Two years ago, California lawmakers quietly passed a complex energy bill that transformed how residents are billed for electricity.