Port of Los Angeles approves $2.6 billion budget


The Los Angeles Port Commission has approved a $2.6 billion budget for the Port of Los Angeles for fiscal year 2024/25.

The revenue and expenditure plan supports the Port of Los Angeles’ priorities of regional investment, decarbonizing port-related operations, workforce development and modernizing cargo infrastructure.

Buoyed by stable cargo volumes over the past nine months, the approved 2024/25 budget projects a total of 9.1 million TEUs, a slight increase of just 2% compared to the budget approved in the previous fiscal year.

Rising cargo volumes are expected to help drive operating revenue up 4.9% to $684.7 million in 2024/25, of which shipping services will account for about 75%.

Operating expenses for the proposed 2024-25 budget are projected to be $403.7 million, an 8.4% increase over the last fiscal year’s approved budget. This increase is primarily due to increased staffing needs and the filling of vacant positions across the Port Authority.

Of the approved budget, $257.7 million is dedicated to the port’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP), a 19 percent increase over the previous fiscal year’s approved budget.

Major CIP budgets include several initiatives, including $44.3 million for the reconstruction of the State Route 47/Vincent Thomas Bridge and the Front Street/Harbor Boulevard Interchange, $15.3 million for the Zero Emissions Port Electrification and Operations Program, $14.2 million for the rehabilitation and improvements of the Pasha Terminal, and $12.5 million for the Marine Oil Terminal Maintenance Standards (MOTEMS) project.

An additional $28.5 million in CIP funds will be dedicated to improving LA Waterfront public access in both Wilmington and San Pedro. Major projects funded in 2024/25 include the San Pedro Waterfront Promenade – Phase II and the Wilmington Waterfront Avalon Pedestrian Bridge and Promenade Gateway.

The CIP budget also includes $4 million toward plans for freight forwarding workforce training facilities at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The $150 million facilities would be the first freight forwarding and workforce training facilities in the U.S. focused on job training in port operations, trucking and warehousing. The environmental review process for the project began earlier this year.

“This year’s budget takes a measured approach by carefully balancing revenues and expenses to ensure our port is well prepared for the future,” said Lucille Roybal Allard, chair of the Los Angeles Port Commission.

“Most importantly, this plan will position us to continue executing on many of our strategic priorities and industry-leading initiatives in the coming year.”

Read: Port of Los Angeles throughput to increase 30% in first quarter of 2024

“With a healthy economy, continued consumer spending and a strong U.S. labor market, we are optimistic about cargo volumes next year,” Port Authority Director Gene Seroka said.

“We have prepared our budget to handle unexpected changes in global trade markets and other uncertainties that may arise.”

Just recently, PACECO Corp. began commercial operation of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane at the Port of Los Angeles.



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