Port of L.A. receives $8M grant to boost tech data platform

The Port of Los Angeles has been awarded an $8 million grant from the state that will allow a series of major enhancements to a technology data platform, officials announced Tuesday.

The funding for the Port Optimizer is part of a larger $27 million in grants from the California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, which is intended to improve data and supply chain functionality across the state's port network, port officials said.

"We're thrilled that this GO-Biz grant to the Port of Los Angeles will help fund three new components to its well-established Port Optimizer technology," Dee Dee Myers, GO-Biz director and senior advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom, said in a statement. "Our state's ports are critical to the stability of our national and global supply chains, and these historic grants will allow California ports and its stakeholders to benefit from its data sharing capabilities."

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First introduced in 2017, the Port Optimizer is a cloud-based information portal that digitizes maritime shipping data for cargo owners and supply chain stakeholders through a single access point, port officials said.

The grant is expected to expand the Port Optimizer to include a truck appointment system, currently under development. Once established, the system will connect with the Port of Long Beach, allowing bay-wide coverage and improving management of containers across the San Pedro Bay port complex, according to port officials.

"This GO-Biz funding will help the Port of Los Angeles accelerate our proven technology, the Port Optimizer, to further improve efficiency, lower impacts on our communities and make us more competitive," Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said in a statement. "We're grateful to the state of California and GO-Biz for being the first state to step up with policy and funding to enhance supply chain digitalization."

Grant funding will support the development of a new California Ports Mobile Application, dubbed CalPorts. The app will enable access to the Port Optimizer and other dashboards when available, according to port officials.

CalPorts is intended to make it easier for California ports to send and receive data on items like cargo status, environmental performance and port security data, among other information.

Additionally, the grant will also allow for data collection and creation of a dashboard on carbon impacts caused by port operations, port officials said. Once developed, users will have access to real-time Green Asset Score based on rail, trucking, vessel and on-port equipment emissions.

According to port officials, the score will help truck operators and business partners select more optimal routes that balance cargo speed and emissions impacts.

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