Mario Cordero, executive director of Port of Long Beach, addressed and thanked frontline men and women who kept the Port operational during the pandemic and helped set a record year.
Before Cordero went into detail about the record-setting year, Cordero held a moment of silence to honor the 13 longshore workers who had died from COVID-19 before sharing that 855 workers based at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles had tested positive for the virus.
During the pandemic, Cordero noted that the Port had a record year, moving more than 8.1 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 6.3% from 2019. Imports into the Port also rose 6.4% and exports increased 0.2%.
"We all have endured incredible hardships with COVID-19, but I am looking forward to 2021 as a time of economic recovery and a renewed focus on our industry partners, infrastructure projects, and community stakeholders," said Cordero.