UN/LOCODE: USLAT📍 United States
Port of Los Alamitos (UN/LOCODE USLAT)
❖ Coordinates: 33.8031°N, -118.0726°E
❖ Time Zone: America/Los_Angeles
❖ UN/LOCODE: USLAT
## About the Port
The UN/LOCODE **USLAT** officially designates the **Port of Los Angeles** (often referred to as San Pedro Bay), the premier container gateway in the Western Hemisphere. While the provided coordinates (33.8030716° N, -118.0725641° W) and the label "Los Alamitos" geographically reference the inland city of Los Alamitos and the adjacent Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) in Orange County—approximately 12 nautical miles northeast of the actual harbor—maritime intelligence databases associate USLAT with the Port of Los Angeles proper (primary coordinates: 33.7361° N, -118.2711° W). This discrepancy likely stems from historical administrative groupings or hinterland designations within the Greater Los Angeles/Long Beach metropolitan statistical area.
Operated by the Los Angeles Harbor Department (LAHD), the port spans 7,500 acres of land and water across 43 miles of waterfront in the San Pedro District. It functions as a self-supporting department of the City of Los Angeles, requiring no tax dollars for operations. As the busiest container port in the United States by TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) volume since 2000, it serves as the critical nexus for Trans-Pacific trade, handling approximately 20% of all inbound U.S. containerized cargo. The facility operates within the **America/Los_Angeles** timezone (UTC-8/UTC-7), maintaining 24/7/365 gate operations at major terminals to optimize supply chain velocity.
## History
The transformation of San Pedro Bay from a shallow, muddy roadstead into a world-class deep-water port is a defining narrative of American civil engineering. In the late 19th century, the "Free Harbor Fight" settled the rivalry between Santa Monica (backed by Southern Pacific Railroad) and San Pedro (backed by the federal government and Collis P. Huntington’s rivals). The 1897 federal decision authorized the construction of a breakwater at San Pedro, marking the federal commitment that birthed the modern port.
The **San Pedro Breakwater** construction (1899–1912) created the initial protected anchorage. The 1909 annexation of San Pedro and Wilmington by the City of Los Angeles gave the municipality control over the tidelands, a unique governance model persisting today. The 1910s and 1920s saw massive dredging to achieve -30 to -40 foot depths and the construction of Municipal Piers 1 through 5, establishing the port as a lumber, petroleum, and cannery hub.
World War II catalyzed exponential growth; the port became a primary embarkation point for the Pacific Theater, handling 10 million tons of cargo annually. The post-war containerization revolution, pioneered by **Sea-Land Service** at Pier 300 in the 1960s and 70s, rendered the older finger piers obsolete. This precipitated the massive land reclamation projects of the 1970s and 80s—specifically **Terminal Island** expansion and the creation of **Pier 400** (the world’s largest human-made peninsula at the time)—to accommodate post-Panamax vessels. The 2002 West Coast port lockout and the 2021–2022 supply chain crisis underscored the port's systemic criticality, driving current automation and decarbonization mandates.
## Infrastructure & Facilities
The Port of Los Angeles (USLAT) features 25 major cargo terminals, including 8 state-of-the-art container terminals concentrated on Terminal Island and the Pier 300/400 complex. The harbor maintains a **main channel depth of -53 feet (Mean Lower Low Water)** following the Channel Deepening Project completed in 2012, allowing fully laden Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) up to 16,000+ TEU capacity to transit without tidal restriction.
### Container Terminals
Key facilities include:
* **APM Terminals (Pier 400):** 570 acres, 7,000 ft of berth, 18 Super-Post-Panamax cranes. Highly automated straddle carrier operation.
* **Fenix Marine Services (Pier 300):** 291 acres, serving the CMA CGM / OOCL / COSCO alliance. 14 cranes, on-dock rail via **YTI (Yusen Terminals Inc.)** intermodal yard.
* **Everport Terminal Services (Pier 226-236):** 205 acres, 6 cranes, serving Evergreen Line.
* **TraPac (Pier 136-139):** 214 acres, fully automated terminal (ASC/RMG hybrid) serving Ocean Network Express (ONE).
* **WBCT (West Basin Container Terminal - Pier 126-136):** 173 acres, serving Yang Ming / HMM / ZIM.
### Intermodal & Logistics
The port is the Western terminus for the **Alameda Corridor**, a 20-mile, grade-separated express rail line (owned by Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority - ACTA) connecting San Pedro Bay to the national Class I rail network (BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad) near downtown LA. This corridor handles ~15% of all U.S. waterborne containerized imports via rail. On-dock rail yards at WBCT, YTI, Everport, and APMT provide direct ship-to-rail loading, reducing drayage costs and highway congestion.
### Specialized Facilities
* **Liquid Bulk:** 8 liquid bulk terminals (Petroleum Coke, Crude Oil, Chemicals) on Terminal Island and Pier 400, with pipeline connectivity to LA Basin refineries.
* **Dry Bulk:** California Sulfur, Cement, and Scrap Metal terminals.
* **Breakbulk/Ro-Ro:** **WWL Vehicle Services Americas (Pier 200)** and **Pasha Stevedoring (Pier 150/174)** handle ~300,000 auto units annually.
* **Cruise:** **World Cruise Center (Pier 91/93/45)** is the largest cruise port on the West Coast.
## Economic Importance
The Port of Los Angeles (USLAT) is an economic engine of global magnitude. A 2023 economic impact study (Martin Associates) quantifies its contribution at **$369 billion in total economic value** nationally, supporting **1.6 million jobs** across the United States (approx. 174,000 direct/induced jobs in the LA 5-county region). It generates roughly **$22.6 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues** annually.
The port’s **Land Use Plan** prioritizes high-value, cargo-intensive uses. The **Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP)**, updated in 2017 in partnership with the Port of Long Beach, mandates aggressive emission reductions: 100% zero-emission (ZE) cargo handling equipment by 2030 and 100% ZE drayage trucks by 2035. The **Clean Truck Fund (CTF) Rate** ($10/TEU effective 2022) finances the turnover of the drayage fleet to battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell platforms.
Technological integration is managed via **Port Optimizer™** (developed with GE Digital) and the **Port Community System (PCS)**, providing real-time vessel scheduling, terminal appointment systems (TMAS), and predictive analytics for cargo dwell time reduction. The port’s credit rating (AA/AA+) reflects robust revenue bonds backed by diversified tariff structures (Wharfage, Dockage, Rent).
## Trade Routes & Major Cargo
USLAT is the undisputed **Trans-Pacific Gateway**. Over 70% of its containerized throughput originates from or is destined for **Northeast Asia** (China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam). The primary trade lanes are:
1. **Far East – US West Coast (FE-WC):** Dominated by the **Ocean Alliance** (CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL, Evergreen), **THE Alliance** (ONE, Hapag-Lloyd, Yang Ming, HMM), and **2M Alliance** (Maersk, MSC – though MSC operates heavily at neighboring USLGB). These alliances deploy 24,000 TEU ULCVs (e.g., *MSC Irina*, *CMA CGM Jacques Saadé* class) on weekly strings calling San Pedro Bay first before Oakland or Seattle.
2. **Trans-Pacific Eastbound (Imports):** Top commodities: **Furniture, Electronics, Apparel/Footwear, Machinery, Plastics, Auto Parts, Toys**. China (incl. Hong Kong) remains the #1 origin country (~45% of TEUs), though "China Plus One" sourcing shifts volume to Vietnam, India, and Malaysia.
3. **Trans-Pacific Westbound (Exports):** Historically a "backhaul" trade, now strategically vital. Top commodities: **Soybeans, Cotton, Waste Paper/Scrap Metal, Animal Feed, Petroleum Products (Coke/Resin), Chemicals, Food Products**. The port is the #1 U.S. gateway for **scrap metal exports** and a critical outlet for Midwest grain via the Alameda Corridor/UP/BNSF rail bridge.
4. **Latin America & Oceania:** Niche services connect to West Coast South America (Chile, Peru, Ecuador - reefer fruit), Central America, and Australia/New Zealand (reefer meat, wine, machinery).
The port handles roughly **9.2M TEU annually** (2023 post-pandemic normalization), with a design capacity exceeding 11M TEU. Its operational symmetry with the **Port of Long Beach (USLGB)** creates the **San Pedro Bay Port Complex**, the 9th largest container port complex globally, handling ~17M TEU combined—surpassing individual European hubs like Rotterdam or Hamburg. For real-time vessel schedules and terminal berthing windows, stakeholders reference the Marine Exchange of Southern California↗ (MXSOCAL) and the Port of Los Angeles Vessel Arrivals↗ dashboard.
Port Intelligence
UN/LOCODE
USLAT
Country
United States
Province / Region
California
Latitude
33.803072
Longitude
-118.072564
Timezone
America/Los_Angeles
Nautical Map (OpenSeaMap)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the UN/LOCODE for Port of Los Alamitos?
The official UN/LOCODE for Port of Los Alamitos is USLAT.
Where is Port of Los Alamitos located?
The Port of Los Alamitos is located in United States, California. Its coordinates are 33.8031°N, -118.0726°E.
What time zone is Port of Los Alamitos in?
Port of Los Alamitos operates in the America/Los_Angeles time zone.
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About the World Port Index
This data is sourced programmatically. The UN/LOCODE is the official geographic coding scheme used by the United Nations for trade and transport locations.
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