Port Of Long Beach Sees Slower June Than Last Year, While L.A. Breaks Records

The Port of Long Beach processed 677,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) last month, a 10% decrease from last year’s record-breaking June numbers. “The story we saw develop in 2018 was retailers forwarding goods to beat tariffs,” Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero explained in a press release. “For 2019, it seems that the cargo is all here and warehouses are filled. That’s disrupting container movement and the growth we would normally see this time of year.” Imports shrank 13.7% to 331,617 TEUs last month, while exports were nearly flat. Fewer empty containers were loaded onto ships headed for Asia, marking a decrease of 9.1%. The port moved 3.7 million TEUs during the first half of 2019, 6.7% off last year’s pace.

Meanwhile, the Port of Los Angeles is celebrating a record-breaking June in terms of cargo throughput, closing out its fiscal year with a total 9.7 million TEUs handled, 765,000 of which came through the port last month. Overall, the port recorded a 5.7% increase compared to the previous fiscal year, making it the busiest in its 112-year history. “Completing the busiest 12-month period in the port’s history makes me proud of our extraordinary capabilities and grateful to all our stakeholders,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka stated.

 

Port Of Long Beach To Fund Colorado Lagoon Upgrades

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday, July 8, agreed to fund a $26.3 million project to improve water and habitat quality of the Colorado Lagoon, located at 5059 E. Colorado St., in exchange for environmental mitigation credits that would allow for future development at the Port of Long Beach. Pending final approval from the Long Beach City Council, the project is intended to re-establish the tidal flow between Colorado Lagoon and Alamitos Bay through an open channel, according to a port press release. “Restoring and improving the Colorado Lagoon will allow marine and coastal wildlife to thrive, while also offering recreational opportunities for our community,” stated Tracy Egoscue, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. The improvement is the final step of the Colorado Lagoon Restoration Project, a multiyear effort. The Long Beach Public Works Department would be responsible for enacting the changes. The Port of Long Beach provided more than $2.3 million to fund the earlier phase of the lagoon restoration, which included vegetation replanting, cleaning an underground channel and dredging and disposing of contaminated sediment.

 

Report Shows Most State Corporations Not Compliant With SB 826

A recent report by the California Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) shows that, as of July 1, 184 out of 537 publicly traded California general corporations or registered foreign corporations are meeting the state requirement of having one female on its board of directors. In a press release today, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma criticized the low figure. “It shows we still have a long way to go to bring gender parity to the board room,” she said. Signed into law last year, SB 826 requires that California corporations must have a minimum of one female on their board of directors by the close of the 2019 calendar year and must disclose the information on their publicly traded statement that is due annually within 150 days after the end of their fiscal year. By December 31, 2021, the hundreds of corporations affected by the law must have a minimum number of female directors depending on the total size of their boards, Ma’s office stated. Corporations that fail to comply may be fined. To assist other companies in hiring female board members, Ma said her office began accepting résumés last month from women who are experienced in banking, public finance, accounting and executive-level decision-making. The résumés are entered into a registry at the State Treasurer’s Office and provided to publicly held corporations that are looking for interested women with a particular skill set, Ma said. Women who are interested in submitting their résumé can contact Xochilt Becerra at the State Treasurer’s Office at (916) 653-2995 or xochilt.becerra@treasurer.ca.gov.

 

DENSO Announces New Company President

Hirokatsu Yamashita has been named president of Long Beach-based DENSO Products and Services Americas, Inc. Yamashita took charge of DENSO’s aftermarket products and services arm on June 1. “I am honored to lead DENSO Products and Services Americas and build on the success of our team and our company’s continued growth in a rapidly changing automotive industry,” Yamashita said. The appointment follows DENSO’s announcement in March detailing changes in leadership personnel. In his new executive role, Yamashita oversees more than 600 employees and operations at the company’s headquarters in Long Beach, among other locations in California, Texas, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. In a press release, DENSO stated that Yamashita has 26 years of experience with the company in its sales, business planning and administrative operations.