Port of Los Angeles

Company History: The City of Los Angeles and the Harbor Area experienced unparalleled population growth in the early 20th century. City leaders recognized the Port's growth opportunities and created the Board of Harbor Commissioners on December 9, 1907, thus marking the official founding of the Port of Los Angeles. The cities of San Pedro and Wilmington were annexed to the City of Los Angeles on August 28, 1909, making the Port of Los Angeles an official department of the City of Los Angeles.

The Port of Los Angeles has America’s most extensive and modern network of on-dock and near-dock rail services connecting the U.S. imports and exports to international markets. About 35% of intermodal containers utilize the Port’s rail network, which includes one near-dock railyard and five on-dock railyards that serve the Port's seven container terminals. The use of on-dock rail is growing annually.

The Port’s world-class rail infrastructure consists of more than 65 miles of on-dock track for building and sorting double-stack trains that speed imports to markets nationwide and U.S. products to the Port for delivery to consumers around the globe. The average train is made up of 30 double-stack cars, eliminating approximately 400 truck trips and related air pollution on each run while optimizing the movement of cargo.

Five modern on-dock rail yards and a sixth yard – a multipurpose staging and storage facility – serve the Port’s full complement of seven marine container terminals. The network operates 24/7 and links to the Alameda Corridor, a dedicated rail expressway that connects the docks to the transcontinental rail system for cargo to flow nonstop between the Port and markets throughout North America.

The Port’s rail network also consists of the near-dock Intermodal Transfer Container Facility (ICTF) and five off-dock mainline rail yards – three operated by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and two operated by BNSF. The UP East Los Angeles Yard and the BNSF Hobart/Commerce Yard near downtown Los Angeles, approximately 24 miles north of the San Pedro Bay ports, handle the majority of the intermodal cargo.

Over the past 10 years, the Port has invested more than $300 million in railway-roadway grade separations and rail system projects to reduce truck trips and optimize the flow of cargo. The Port and its terminal operators are planning to expend hundreds of millions more on rail system projects over the next 10 years to accommodate expected growth in intermodal rail volumes.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.