It’s a sign of the future: U.S. Analysts estimate that automated technology – such as the huge robots that move cargo at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – can reduce the amount of time ships spend in port and improve productivity by as much as 30 percent. Long Beach will get a new showcase of the technology this month with the phased-in opening of an automated terminal. The cost is over $1 billion to complete for the capacity to handle 3.3 million 20-foot container units, reports the Wall Street Journal.