In her December 20th interview with AJOT, Carpenter addressed numerous concerns with the industry including the Jones Act and the decline in maritime employment interest.

U.S. port operations have seen record-breaking volumes while demonstrating remarkable resilience — despite serious structural challenges that could reshape maritime trade patterns in 2025.

The Port of Los Angeles processed 884,315 TEUs in November, a 16% increase over the previous year and so far in 2024 has moved 9,375,735 TEUs, 19% ahead of its 2023 pace:

Port of Long Beach the port surpasses the previous record set in November 2020.

Wan thanked Port of Oakland maritime stakeholders, including truckers, shippers, terminal operators, and longshore workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU): “We have a partnership with you, and we are making great strides …

Mary E. Lovely, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics, based in Washington D.C., warned of “uncertainty” and “disruption” on U.S. trade and for U.S. shippers as a result higher tariffs expected to be implemented by President-elect Donald Trump.

On October 29th, American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) President & CEO Cary Davis said the AAPA continued its strong advocacy for U.S. ports and emphasized the importance of new federal renewable energy grants, totaling $2.9 billion, supporting new economic development.

Moreover, countries that are neither close allies of the US nor of China are growing their shares of world trade, connecting geopolitical rivals, while traded goods are traversing the longest average distance on record, countering claims of a broad regionalization trend.

The Port of South Louisiana is projecting record tonnage in 2024, according to Paul Matthews, CEO, Port of South Louisiana.

While the term “globalization” is not much in vogue these days, the US industry and its supply-chain operators can hardly detach themselves from the enmeshed world’s economies and markets, highlighting the interdependence of the world economies and markets, and the importance of international networking.