West Coast Ports Labor Contract Gets Biggest Approval in Union History!

OnTrac rail study reveals that the combined 10-day shutdown and 23-day backlog disrupted trade valued at $6.28 billion just at the two LA basin ports. LAEDC and RAND Corporation are studying the economic impact of homeland security.

– Economic recovery and national defense experts have one less thing to worry about because of the agreement between West Coast shippers and ILWU dockworkers. The agreement was ratified last night with 7,405 members voting in favor of the contract proposal and 888 against. The new six-year contract with the Pacific Maritime Association saw an 85% turnout rate and received the biggest approval in the history of the Union.
Six years should be enough time for the US to start getting its goods movement act together", said Senior Vice President Wally Baker, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) (www.laedc.org). The LAEDC is a non-profit economic think tank. We estimate as part of the Orange North-American Trade Rail Access Corridor (OnTrac) trade flow study that the total trade disruption cost is $6.28 billion for just the two Los Angeles basin ports. Thats about two-thirds of the total trade value interrupted by the West Coast ports dispute."
The first phase of the OnTrac Trade Impact Study is an encyclopedia of US trade data that analyses all international trade moving to and from each of the 435 US Congressional Districts via the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the OnTrac Corridor, and other basin trade routes. We still have a big job ahead of us with this study. In the second phase, LAEDC economists and the RAND Corporation are working together on the economic impact of homeland security on the OnTrac Trade Corridor as well as our ports of entry." The homeland security phase of the study is planned for completion in February.

                                                                        - Mo r e -
West Coast Ports Labor Contract Is Biggest In Union History!
Page 2-2-2      

The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are the third largest port complex in the world and connects to the OnTrac rail project in northern Orange County California.

The OnTrac rail study identifies $196 billion in annual trade through the LA basin ports, corridors, and trade routes during the year 2000 or about two-thirds of all west coast waterborne trade flows. The other West Coast ports combined are estimated to represent the additional one-third or $100 billion in trade annually.
We saw how important trade flows are to all of the country as a result of this labor dispute," said Ken Ackbarali, vice president and senior economist, at LAEDC. Sometimes it takes a crisis to help us appreciate how much money, taxes and jobs are tied to waterborne trade. The OnTrac Trade Impact Study was designed to help members of Congress better understand why corridors and ports are one integrated system and cannot be separated from their economic benefits."
The state-by-state spreadsheets, (http://www.laedc.org/) or (http://www.mayocommunications.com) charts and graphics, and audio clips (.mp3) are available to the media. They show how all US Congressional Districts benefit from economic activity related to products moving through the ports and trade corridors system.
The study also reveals that LA local ports and trade corridors move more than $196 billion annually or $537 million per day of products and commodities to and from every part of the country. The study looked only at cargo that went through LA area corridors and ports in 2000. Here are the State annual benefits and estimated cost of the disruption for both the 10-day shutdown and the 23-day backlog:
International Trade Moving viaPorts of Los Angeles and Long Beach and Trade Corridors(Millions of Year 2000 Dollars)
   Annual    Trade
State   Total   Disrupted
1.   California   $92,815.50    $2,969.8
2.   New York   $15,962.20    $510.7
3.   Texas   $11,827.50    $378.4
4.   Illinois   $11,748.50    $375.9
5.   New Jersey   $10,747.60    $343.9
6.   Tennessee   $4,667.80    $149.4
7.   Michigan   $3,602.70    $115.3
8.   Georgia   $3,544.70    $113.4
9.   Ohio   $3,475.00    $111.2
10.   Arizona   $3,259.90    $104.3
11.   Missouri   $3,128.00    $100.1
12.   Minnesota   $3,092.40    $98.9
13.   Massachusetts   $2,817.50    $90.2
14.   Indiana   $2,597.50    $83.1
15.   Florida   $2,053.10    $65.7
16.   Pennsylvania   $2,022.00    $64.7
17.   Kentucky   $1,784.80    $57.1
18.   Washington   $1,743.10    $55.8
19.   North Carolina   $1,599.90    $51.2
20.   Wisconsin   $1,480.70    $47.4
21.   South Carolina   $1,387.50    $44.4
22.   Colorado   $1,231.60    $39.4
continued on next page
International Trade Moving viaPorts of Los Angeles and Long Beach and Trade Corridors(Millions of Year 2000 Dollars)
State   Annual Total   TradeDisrupted
23.   Kansas   $984.80    $31.5
24.   Alabama   $865.00    $27.7
25.   Virginia   $847.20    $27.1
26.   Connecticut   $806.80    $25.8
27.   Arkansas   $707.70    $22.6
28.   Nebraska   $695.90    $22.3
29.   Louisiana   $680.90    $21.8
30.   Maryland   $486.60    $15.6
31.   Utah   $483.30    $15.5
32.   Mississippi   $452.10    $14.5
33.   Oregon   $422.10    $13.5
34.   South Dakota   $373.60    $12.0
35.   Iowa   $366.40    $11.7
36.   West Virginia   $337.80    $10.8
37.   Oklahoma   $299.10    $9.6
38.   Rhode Island   $276.30    $8.8
39.   Nevada   $136.30    $4.4
40.   Delaware   $132.80    $4.2
             District of Columbia   $115.60    $3.7
41.   New Hampshire   $98.80    $3.2
42.   Maine   $86.30    $2.8
43.   New Mexico   $31.60    $1.0
44.   Hawaii   $30.50    $1.0
45.   Idaho   $24.50    $0.8
46.   Vermont   $15.50    $0.5
47.   Alaska   $9.50    $0.3
48.   Montana   $7.90    $0.3
49.   Wyoming   $5.40    $0.2
50.   North Dakota   $5.00    $0.2
United States   $196,374.60    $6,283.4
Note:     Figures include data for ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach only. For                state-by-state jobs and tax impacts, see www.laedc.org. Sources: OnTrac Trade Impact Study; November 2002                BST Associates (Bothell, Washington)                Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation

Note: The LAEDCs results are from a yearlong study for the OnTrac Joint Powers Authority. LAEDC collaborated with BST Associates on this study due to the firms vast knowledge of port and corridor issues. The LAEDC and OnTrac rail project have also worked closely and received a great deal of assistance from the Port of Long Beach, California. For more details and background on OnTrac visit http://www.ontrac-jpa.org/ and for a breakdown of the study visit www.MayoCommunications.com.