Posted on June 11, 2025
The Port of Long Beach supports more than 2.7 million U.S. jobs, generates $176 billion in income and contributes $309 billion to the value of all the goods and services produced within the nation’s borders.
The numbers are based on a new analysis of the Port’s importance to the U.S. economy that the Port released at a May 12 press conference – only hours after the U.S. and China surprised the world by announcing a 90-day rollback of soaring tariffs that would have cost Americans 145% more for Chinese goods and Chinese consumers 125% more for U.S. products.
“The timing was purely coincidental,” said Port CEO Mario Cordero of the analysis that had been in the works for more than a year. “But it was also fortuitous. At this moment, all eyes are on international trade and we have the hard data that shows the Port of Long Beach fuels the U.S. economy.”
THE NUMBERS
The Port’s economic analysis quantifies the direct, indirect and broader impacts its operations have on the region, throughout California and across the nation. The numbers are based on cargo volume for the 2023 calendar year. Key findings include:
- The Port supports more than 2.7 million jobs in the United States, providing $176 billion in income and more than $309 billion to gross domestic product, the final value of goods and services.
- Statewide, 1,138,156 million jobs are connected to the Port, generating $77.9 billion in income.
- Across Southern California, nearly 692,000 jobs depend on the Port, providing $46.6 billion in income. (The five-county region includes Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.)
- Locally, in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Statistical Area (the second-largest in the nation), the Port powers 543,122 jobs, providing $38.9 billion in income.
- Port activity is a major contributor to the tax base, with $84.4 billion in local, state and federal taxes collected for 2023.
- Cargo moving to and from the Port originates from or is destined for every Assembly and Senate district in California and every U.S. congressional district.
At a time when tariffs threaten to drastically reduce international trade between the U.S. and the rest of the world, the findings show people what’s at stake, said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson. “These are not abstract numbers, these are American livelihoods, these are American families, these are American communities that rely on our port to remain competitive.”
Any policy that disrupts the flow of trade through the Port of Long Beach undermines the very economic growth it seeks to advance, Richardson said. “We understand the effort to bring more manufacturing jobs to this country. We fully support the marketing of U.S. goods overseas. In fact, our Port is ready, willing and able to help send those exports on their way.
“We’re doing that now with the billions of dollars of exports that move through this port every year,” added the mayor, citing agricultural products like soybeans from the Midwest and pork, poultry and beef from Texas, Colorado and Kansas. “Our community, our jobs and our collective future depend on stable, smart trade policies that grow, not shrink, business incomes at home and markets for U.S. goods abroad.”
AMERICAN JOBS
The Port of Long Beach alone moves 15% of all containerized imports and exports between the U.S. and the rest of the world, said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Bonnie Lowenthal. “We’re helping to put America to work, and we’re proud of that.”
The occupations go far beyond the docks, Lowenthal added. “The jobs are in retail and online sales, warehousing and transportation. They are also in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, finance, technology and more.”
The Port must remain competitive to support American jobs and families. This means investing in Port infrastructure to modernize its facilities, improve efficiencies, and increase the safety and sustainability of its world-class operations, Lowenthal said. “This year alone, we’re spending $368 million on capital projects to keep this powerful economic engine running smoothly. And that’s not a flash in the plan. It’s a normal year. Over the next 10 years, we’re planning $3.2 billion in capital improvements.”
At the May 12 press conference, labor and business leaders stood with the mayor and Port officials to underscore the importance of trade through Long Beach to the rest of the nation. Gary Herrera, president of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13, spoke on behalf of about 15,000 dockworkers, including members of Local 63 and Local 94.
Labor is already seeing fewer shifts due to declining cargo volumes, said Herrera, who described the men and women of the ILWU as the frontline workers of the U.S. economy. “During COVID, we kept those goods moving whether it be your for medical needs, your TVs, agriculture … Whatever you see fit to be part of your daily life, the men and women of the ILWU are moving that cargo to and from your homes, and then to the stores, your restaurants, your pharmacies, your hospitals, everywhere.”
Tracy Hernandez, CEO of the Los Angeles County Business Federation, represents a network of 245 business groups and 400,000 employers in Southern California that generate 5 million jobs.
“Trade through the Port of Long Beach contributes more than $84 billion in taxes that support the basic government services we all need to raise our families and run our businesses,” Hernandez said. “Taxes fuel everything we want in our hometowns, our cities, our neighborhoods, and our city budgets, so we can have clean and safe streets, productive parks and clean water, reliable lights, good schools. Everything that we care about.”
RIPPLE EFFECTS
Port activities have an economic ripple effect, said Kimberly Ritter-Martinez, the Port’s manager of economics and funding. “It’s bit like dropping a stone into a pond. Whether it’s our cargo operations, our capital expenditures or our tourism activities, all ripple out across the region and eventually reach every corner of the U.S.”
The analysis measures the Port’s direct, indirect and induced impacts for the metropolitan area, the larger five-county region, California, and the nation. Direct impacts are the value of cargo handling, construction and tourism jobs created at the Port, and indirect impacts are the value of goods and services used at the Port, such as supply chain activity, equipment expenses, construction materials, consulting services and related jobs, Ritter-Martinez explained.
Induced effects are the value of Port-related earnings spent on groceries, travel, entertainment and other costs associated with daily life, she added. “These are everyday necessities and activities we spend our paychecks on that support the broader economy.”
Hours before the press conference, the U.S. and China announced an agreement to temporarily lower rates on Chinese imports to the U.S. to 30%, down from 145%, and U.S. exports to China to 10%, down from 125%. Absent further change, the 90-day reprieve extends through early July.
“The rollback is a step that should be acknowledged, but recovery will not be immediate,” said Richardson. “It will take weeks, if not months, to untangle the backlog and stabilize the system.”
Meanwhile, tariffs remain in flux for many more countries that import U.S. goods and export to American markets through the Long Beach gateway.
“Trade is a two-way street, and what we need is certainty,” the mayor added. “There is still a great deal of uncertainty for the workforce, for buyers and suppliers that needs to be addressed through long-term, long-range, strategic and stable trade policy.”
