Cargo Spike Buoys Port Hiring in L.A., Long Beach

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Recent surges in cargo volumes have prompted the majority of marine terminals in Southern California’s two major ports to reinstate late-night and weekend operating hours this week.

Eleven of the 13 terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will add five weekly off-peak shifts, extending operating hours from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays by Sept. 8, according to an announcement by PierPASS, a non-profit company set up by terminal operators in 2005 to better manage access to the ports.

The move will provide virtual around-the-clock service for shippers and handlers moving cargo through the ports, a situation that has not existed since the off-peak operating hours were eliminated in early 2009 as the recession hit.

“This certainly will spread the truck traffic throughout the day and into the evenings and weekends,” said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach. “It’s in line with the big rebound in trade we’ve been seeing this year.”

In July, the last month for which statistics are available, both ports reported their busiest month of the year with Los Angeles handling 730,745 containers – a 27 percent increase versus last July – while 587,880 units passed through Long Beach, up 36 percent from the same period last year.

Port officials attributed the surge to the improving economy and earlier-than-usual imports for the upcoming holiday season. Even though some economists now fear a double-dip recession, the decision to reinstate the off-peak shifts was recommended by a group of 30 importers, exporters, motor carriers, port representatives and marine terminal operators that began meeting over the summer to address the growing congestion.

As early as last month, many terminals began opening an hour earlier, closing an hour later and operating through lunch by hiring back hundreds of part-time workers let go in 2009.

Gassing Up

Los Angeles County’s newest alternative energy fueling station is about to open in the City of Commerce.

The Sheila Street station, offering both compressed and liquefied natural gas, will be the sixth facility of its kind in the county when it opens Sept. 13.

“We’ve gotten dozens of calls from folks wanting to use our facility,” said Martin Gombert, project manager for the $3.3 million facility, owned by the city, and funded by federal, state and other sources.

The station’s primary customers will be the city’s fleet of 12 buses, which run on compressed natural gas, as well as big-rig trucks traveling to and from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, many of which run on liquefied natural gas. Though low-emission standards imposed by the ports’ Clean Truck Program have forced many truckers to convert to LNG, there are few stations able to refuel them.

“This helps support the conversion of trucks to alternative fuels,” Gombert said, adding that the other closest stations are each more than 20 miles away in Carson and Long Beach.

The opening of the station, originally set for August, was delayed due to problems with its phone lines.

“We had to get them activated for fire and security,” Gombert said. “People are chomping at the bit to start fueling.”

New Destinations

The Long Beach Airport has announced two new destinations – Colorado Springs, Co., and Idaho Falls, Ida. – beginning later this month and next.

Allegiant Air, which has a business model built around serving secondary destinations, will start flying to Colorado on Sept. 18 and Idaho on Oct. 8.

The airline, which began serving the airport in July, will offer two weekly nonstop flights to Colorado Springs on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Monday and Friday flights to Idaho Falls. Currently, the Las Vegas-based airline flies between Long Beach and Stockton as well as Bellingham, Wash.

The Long Beach Airport is home to six airlines serving 17 cities including San Francisco; Las Vegas; New York; Boston; Washington, D.C.; and Ford Lauderdale, Fla. Colorado Springs and Idaho Falls will be the 18th and 19th destinations.

Staff Reporter David Haldane can be reached at [email protected] or at 323-549-5225, ext. 225.

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