California's Ocean Economy - California Resources Agency - State ...

NOEP
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
-20%
-40%
-60%
-35.1%
Changes in California Marine Transportation 1990-2000
-27.0%
-26.6%
71.4%
62.5%
Deep Sea Freight Marine
Passenger
Transportation
37.5%
61.7% 41.2%
41.9%
Marine
Transportation
Services
-50.7%
-37.2%
-31.2%
Search and
Navigation
Equipment
Figure 5-1: Changes in California Marine Transportation 1990-2000
5.1 Marine Transportation
-37.6%
Employment
Wages
GSP
-26.7%
Total
-18.9%
California is the largest single gateway services state in the US. In 2000, the value of trade
through the Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland Customs Districts was $392 billion.
Ideally situated in the global trading network, waterborne commerce through California’s
ports accounted for 40% of the national total in 2000. 27
Located on the central West Coast of North America, California ports provide direct access
to the entire continent and Asia. In the state, there are 20 ports, including seven major
commercial seaports covering 98 percent of the state’s total waterborne cargo value in 2000.
They are: Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Richmond, Port Hueneme, San Diego, and
San Francisco. Among them, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland were three of the four
largest container ports in the country in terms of cargo volume in 2000.
5.1.1 Overview of Activities
California’s seaports and the cargo handled are of great economic significance. They support
industrial, retail and agricultural sectors throughout the nation.
The following two figures present the composition of waterborne tonnages for major
California ports in 2001 and 2000. In 2001, the eight major ports carried approximately
161.7 million tons of cargo, of which 36 million metric tons were domestic, and 125.7
million tons were foreign.(see figure 5-3.) In 2000, 36.3 million tons of domestic and 124.9
27 US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center, State to State and Region to Region Commodity
Tonnage, Public Domain database, available at http://www.Usacoe.amry.mil. As of Oct.30, 2001.
56