California

The ports are an important economic engine for California and the nation.  California’s 11 seaports handled 23 percent of the U.S.’s waterborne trade in 2003, and 42 percent of all U.S. container trade – the fastest growing segment of port activity.  Between 1998 and 2003, container volumes at California ports increased 45.8 percent while total U.S. volume increased 36.9 percent.  Foreign trade through California ports totaled $359 billion in 2004. 

Port activities generate $84.5 billion annually in statewide business sales and generate $3.6 billion in annual tax revenues for state and local governments, and school and special districts. 

• The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach account for more than $73 billion of annual statewide business sales alone.
• The ports of Oakland and San Francisco generate approximately $3.3 billion in annual economic output.
• The Port of San Diego activities create more than $7.5 billion in annual economic activity.

California ports also have an important nation-wide impact:

State and local taxes paid across the nation because of trade through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have increased from $6.0 billion to $28.1 billion or 368 percent, since 1995.

Trade through these ports supports the economy of virtually every region of the United States:

• The Southwest region, from Colorado to New Mexico accounts for 32.1 percent of LA/Long Beach trade, including $82 billion in imports and exports which supports more than 1 million jobs.
• The Great Lakes region accounts for 21 percent of trade, $53.7 billion in goods, and is home to 681,800 jobs.
• The Southeast region imports and exports $37.7 billion in goods, which supports nearly 500,000 jobs.
• ·The South Central region is home to 435,700 jobs supported by the $27.3 billion in imports and exports that travel through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
• Another 339,900 jobs in the Northwest are supported by Southern California trade.

Washington

Washington is more trade-dependent than any other state – from apples to aircraft parts, Washington is a big exporter and importer.  Close to a million Washington citizens – about a third of the workforce – have jobs supported directly or indirectly by international trade.  Approximately 60,000 jobs are directly related to activities at the ports, and another 200,000 workers are employed producing goods to be sold abroad.  

An additional benefit of being a national transshipment center is that some companies choose to locate their distribution hubs in Washington.  They store products in warehouses near ports before sending them out by rail or truck to retail locations throughout the region – and all those activities generate additional generating jobs, business income and tax revenue.  The Port of Seattle alone generated more than $626 million in state and local taxes in 2003.  

Puget Sound ports provide the most direct shipping link between major markets in Asia and the heavily populated East Coast.  In 2005, about three million 20-foot containers holding about $67 billion worth of goods were shipped in and out of Puget Sound ports.  With trade projected to increase by 66 percent over the next 20 years, that number could soar to 6.9 million units by 2025.