Port of L.A. partners with GE to create portal for container cargo

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the system will enable supply chain partners to receive a ship’s cargo information well in advance of arrival.    The Port of Los Angeles and General Electric Transportation said they will create an information portal that will provide stakeholders with greater line-of-sight and planning capabilities to more effectively serve ultra-large containerships.
   Freight data that will be utilized in the two-month pilot project will include filtered information from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial system.
   Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the system will enable supply chain partners to receive a ship’s cargo information well in advance of arrival.
   “Ultimately, the goal of the port information portal is to improve data-flow between cargo owners, shipping lines and other stakeholders so that port and terminal operators have an extended window of time to track inbound cargo to more effectively service vessels, optimize cargo movement and improve the predictability and reliability of the supply chain,” the Port of Los Angeles and GE said in the joint press release.
   Port and cargo stakeholders manually tested this advanced exchange of data last December during a call by the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, the largest containership to ever call the Port of Los Angeles.
   U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker called the initiative “visionary.” Pritzker said, “The innovative steps being taken in Los Angeles will demonstrate the value of new IT systems to ports and shippers, and help catalyze the voluntary implementation of these systems at ports throughout the U.S. We commend the Port of Los Angeles and GE for launching this visionary initiative.”