Port of Los Angeles Makes History Once Again

Posted by Gene Seroka on January 4, 2016

On December 26, the Port of Los Angeles proudly welcomed the largest container ship ever to call at a North American seaport.

The vessel, the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, is built to carry nearly 18,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs or 20-foot containers); that’s about a third more cargo than any container ship currently calling in San Pedro Bay or other U.S. ports. CMA CGM named the vessel in honor of one of our founding fathers, and we are honored that they chose Los Angeles as the Benjamin Franklin’s first U.S. port of call.

For the Port of Los Angeles, the arrival of the Benjamin Franklin says that the nation’s number one gateway for containerized trade is preparing for a new era of international trade; but, it also sends a powerful message to the nation as a whole about what it will take for our nation to compete in the global economy.

Trade activity through America’s ports supports more than 23 million jobs and generates more than $321 billion in tax revenue.  Valued at more than $4.6 trillion, international trade through our seaports accounts for about one-quarter of the U.S. economy.  Our ports –together with roads, railways, and distribution centers– form a complex, multi-modal system that links American businesses and consumers to global markets.

Maintaining and modernizing the entire freight transportation network is vital to American competitiveness.
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