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This is sponsored content and was provided by the Port of San Diego
The Port of San Diego is where ships arrive day and night, carrying loads of cargo to and from places like Japan, Germany and Mexico. It is a critical link in the global economy and the Port’s focus on specialty cargo – cargo that does not fit into your standard container – gives it a competitive edge over the typical container port.
High, wide and heavy cargo such as windmill blades, ship engines and beer fermentation tanks require special handling and space. Refrigerated produce requires cold storage. And free-flowing dry bulk has no need to be contained. These are the types of cargo the Port of San Diego specializes in. And that's why the Port is moving forward in 2017 with modernizing one of its maritime terminals.
Plans are currently underway to optimize the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and ensure it remains a vital, global gateway for imports and exports. The modernization will keep the same footprint of the terminal, but allow for flexible laydown space to bring in more specialty cargo and provide a boost to San Diego's role as a true global city of the 21st century.
The Port’s two cargo terminals, Tenth Avenue and National City, receive visiting vessels from 20 foreign counties. In 2015, the cargo terminals processed almost 1.8 million tons of goods, disseminating them throughout the United States. The Dole Fresh Fruit Company, for example, imports nearly 100 million bananas per month through the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, fruit that is bound for stores and consumers between San Diego and Canada and east of the Rockies.
The National City Marine Terminal handles lumber for Southern California coming from the Pacific Northwest and approximately one in every 10 imported cars sold in the United States. Nearly 4 million imported vehicles have passed through the Port in the last decade.
There are only 17 commercial “strategic ports” in the United States designated to support cargo and vessel operations by the military’s Transportation and Military Sealift commands. The Port of San Diego is one of them, specially equipped to bring in equipment in case of an emergency mobilization by the area’s considerable military presence.
San Diego is the only major West Coast port combining all the assets of a great natural, all-weather harbor and extensive on-dock distribution facilities: a combination that gives the Port of San Diego a competitive advantage over all other West Coast ports and keeps our region competitive in the global marketplace.
