As one of his final acts in office, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law to provide more transparency in the global supply chain for California consumers.
By Patrick Burnson
Published: December, 2010
More than 3,000 companies doing business in California will be impacted, representing 87 percent of the economic activity in the state. “This new law is one small step in a long journey,” said Diane Osgood, senior advisor at BSR. “We hope it will enable a watershed in knowledge sharing and active consumer engagement to encourage pooling resources to get us closer to concrete measurable results in ending all forms of slavery.”
Officials Unveil Green Trade Corridor
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration’s continuing commitment to a more efficient and green transportation system moved forward in November as Maritime Administrator David T. Matsuda joined other federal, state and local officials at the Port of Stockton to officially break ground on California’s new “Green Trade Corridor.”
The $30 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant will help develop a viable waterborne shipping route between Oakland, Stockton and West Sacramento, which immediately creates a new transportation alternative to conventional freight and cargo movement in Northern California.
“The Green Trade Corridor project will demonstrate the environmental benefits of freight transportation on America’s Marine Highways, not only for California but for all of America,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “It will also create good, solid transportation jobs for today and far into the future.”
Currently, international trade, imports, and exports are moved almost exclusively by truck or rail in California. The TIGER grant to the ports of Oakland, West Sacramento, and Stockton enables a partnership that will use barges to move cargo along the inland waterway system from Stockton and West Sacramento to Oakland for ultimate shipment to the Far East. Vessel operations are scheduled to begin in early 2012.
“Not only will this project ultimately reduce air emissions from trucks on Interstate 580, it will also create new alternatives throughout Northern California to transport exports to the Far East,” said Matsuda.
Federal grants will be used to purchase or upgrade port facilities and the equipment needed to make the marine highway system a reality, including:
• The construction of a staging area at the Port of Stockton for cargoes dedicated to the new marine highway, and the purchase of two cranes and a barge to support the service;
• The construction of a distribution center and the purchase of a crane in West Sacramento where freight, mostly agricultural products from California’s Central Valley, will be “re-packed,” into larger containers for transport on water; and
• The installation of electrical supply at ship berths in the Port of Oakland, which will allow operators to shut down an ocean-going vessel’s diesel engines while in port, further reducing the air emissions in this green trade corridor.
California Exporters Post Strong Numbers
While unemployment remained high and foreclosures were on the rise, California’s exporters turned in another strong performance in September. The $12.32 billion in goods California businesses shipped abroad in September exceeded the $10.352 billion sent to foreign markets a year ago by a healthy 19 percent, according to an analysis by Beacon Economics of international trade data released by the U.S. Commerce Department.
September marked the eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year increases in California’s export trade, according to Jock O’Connell, Beacon Economics’ international trade adviser. “To be sure, September 2009 did not set a very high bar for comparison purposes, but the year-to-year increase was still remarkably robust,” O’Connell said.
California also outpaced the nation as a whole in merchandise export growth in September, 19 percent to 17.9 percent. In inflation-adjusted terms, California’s export trade in September almost exactly matched the value of its merchandise exports in September 2008, when international trade began to plummet as the U.S. recession took root worldwide.
The value of the state’s manufactured exports this September was up by 19 percent from last September, while shipments of agricultural goods and other non-manufactured products increased by 10.7 percent. Re-exports of items previously imported into the state jumped by 24.3 percent. California accounted for 11.4 percent of all U.S. merchandise exports in September.
“All indications are that the sustained growth in September’s exports was led by airborne shipments of high-value items such as electronics components, medical and scientific instruments, and pharmaceuticals,” O’Connell said. The value of exports through the state’s international airports was up 26.5 percent from last September, while the value of maritime exports via California’s seaports rose by a more modest 13.7 percent.
“Most Californians don’t appreciate that, in terms of dollar value, about half of this state’s export trade moves by air,” O’Connell said. “Not surprisingly, terrorist incidents involving air freight pose a particularly acute threat to California’s economy.”
