Long Beach Board of Harbour Commissioners president James Hankla, who took over from immediate past president Mario Cordero on Monday, has warned that the coming year could be a tough one.
"This next year is not going to be easy," said Hankla, who previously served as president for one year from 2006-2007, "but I look forward to serving all of you in this capacity."
Hankla will serve a a one-year term as the board's leader and the port's chief spokesman, the port said in a statement.
The statement did not expand on the problems that would be faced by the port in the coming year, but the US economic slowdown is having a sharp effect on gateways such as the LA-Long Beach complex.
Imports are down as consumer spending dries up, and shipping lines - battling horrific increases in bunker fuel prices - have cut or curtailed transpacific and all-water services on the Asia-US trade, further affecting throughput at West Coast ports.
On top of that, the Pacific ports are facing potential disruptions as unions and employers argue over a new empoyment contract.
In other key actions announced yesterday, the board of Harbour Commissioners asked staff for an evaluation of "zero or low-emission cargo movement systems" that could be used to move containers to and from an off-dock rail yard.
Such technologies include magnetic levitation (maglev) and fixed electric "conveyor belts." Board members said they want to select the best option and to initiate a demonstration project.
The board hired an administrator to oversee the Clean Trucks Programme, an aggressive plan to replace or retrofit thousands of trucks serving the Port and reduce truck air pollution by 80 percent by 2012.
The board selected Tetra Tech, a Pasadena-based consulting, engineering and technical services firm, to administer the trucks programme.
Funding was approved by the board for development of retrofit technology that could bring older trucks into compliance with 2007 federal and port air quality standards - the benchmark for the Clean Trucks Programme.
As part of the Clean Air Action Plan's Technology Advancement Programme, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will split the US$261,232 cost of the project.
Also approved by the board was an advance order for 100 Kenworth liquefied natural gas-powered (LNG) trucks. Last month the commission ordered 400 diesel trucks.
