Governor of California, Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order, guiding state agencies to identify additional ways to mitigate congestion at California ports, amid global disruptions to the supply chain.
The order also directs state agencies to continue coordinating with the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to address state, national and global supply chain challenges.
“California’s ports are critical to our local, state and national economies and the state is taking action to support goods movement in the face of global disruptions,” said Gavin Newsom.
“My administration will continue to work with federal, state, labour and industry partners on innovative solutions to tackle immediate challenges while also bringing our distribution processes into the 21st century,” pointed out the Californian Governor.
Record demand for imported goods, combined with capacity deficiency across the entire supply chain, has caused delays and slowed distribution at the San Pedro Bay Ports. Therefore, Newsom’s executive order suggests state agencies identify state-owned properties and other locations that could be available to address short-term storage needs, once goods are unloaded from ships.
Furthermore, the executive order directs the Department of Finance to work with state agencies for the development of longer-term solutions that support port operations and goods movement for consideration in the January 10 Governor’s Budget, “which may include port and transportation infrastructure improvements, electrification of the goods movement system from port to delivery, and workforce development,” according to a statement.
Earlier this year, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) launched the California Supply Chain Success Initiative, which is a partnership with the California State Transportation Agency, the Port of Long Beach, and the California State University Long Beach Center for International Trade and Transportation to engage the network of stakeholders across the container shipping industry to discuss challenges and identify creative solutions.
This effort, which brought together federal, state and local leaders, is focused on measures to address port congestion, including the initiative of 24/7 operations across the supply chain, a move the state worked with the Biden-Harris Administration on, improving collaboration, and exploring policies to remove obstacles and improve the movement of goods.
