The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) recently announced it will award $27 million to support data system development and interoperability across five ports in the state. This is the first-ever state-level funding in the country focused on improving data functionality across a statewide network of ports.
According to a 2023 report by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a successful cyberattack against a complex maritime ecosystem in the United States could be devastating. It went on to cite that more than 75% of the nation’s trade relies on the maritime sector, totaling $5.4 trillion in economic activity, $1.5 trillion in imports and more than 30 million jobs. The five California ports to benefit from this funding handle 40% of all of the United States’ containerized imports alone.
“California’s ports are critical to the stability of our national and global supply chains, as well as the health of our worldwide economy,” said GO-Biz Director and Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom, Dee Dee Myers. “These historic, first-of-their-kind awards will allow us to use data to improve the functionality of our supply chain, and we look forward to working with our ports to further the momentum that these projects will generate across the state.”
The California Containerized Ports Interoperability Grant Program will fund 10 projects across ports in Hueneme, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland and San Diego. The projects will address key challenges in port operations, including cargo-routing, artificial intelligence integration, climate resiliency, emissions reduction, trucking appointment systems, increased cybersecurity protections, and the development of new data standards for cargo.
“This milestone marks significant progress in the Governor’s vision to improve California’s supply chain, powering us into a more equitable and economically prosperous future,” said California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin. “Through this critical funding and strong collaboration between California’s ports, key operators will now have essential data to help move goods using a more efficient, reliable and resilient transportation network.”