In the global economy, U.S. and foreign companies that operate at West Coast ports play an increasingly vital role as major employers and as principal gateways and a regional economic force for exports and imports. Our ports serve as the export gateway for U.S. goods sold overseas and the entry point for raw materials and consumer goods. Those materials feed the nation’s manufacturing industry, supply high-tech electronic and mechanical components and computers and fill the shelves of retail stores. However, seaports are just one step in the international goods movement chain that also involves the onshore transport of goods through the trucking, rail and air industries.
Shipping companies and terminal operators at West Coast ports serve the nation’s primary gateways for international trade.
- Our companies contribute some $780 billion to the U.S. Gross National Product (GNP), create approximately 16 million jobs nationwide and generate approximately $210 billion in local, state and federal tax revenues.
- Almost 95 percent of the containerized Asian cargo destined for the Central and Mountain states entered the country through West Coast ports.
- California is home to three of the largest ports in the nation: Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland.
- 40% of all containerized cargo arriving to the United States enters through California Ports.
- In 2017, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSPA) contributed over $12 billion in business output and generated over $135 million in state taxes.