This is a map of the flow of port good by truck from the POH (Port of Houston) in 1998. Share pictures of you cities' port flow.

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/state_info/texas/tx_combtrks.pdf

This LA one is from 98, so the numbers are way below what they would be for this year.

http://pichold.com/up/0504/losangeles_port.jpg

This LA one is from 98, so the numbers are way below what they would be for this year.

http://pichold.com/up/0504/losangeles_port.jpg
There all from 98' :/

Its weird that Alaska shows up on the LA one, because it did in Houston's, but for rail, not truck.

Its amazing, how people little expect that the port of Houston and Los Angeles serve the majority of everyday life... I bet New York's is crazy big when it comes to trucking and rail.

Its amazing, how people little expect that the port of Houston and Los Angeles serve the majority of everyday life... I bet New York's is crazy big when it comes to trucking and rail.

Actually, Chicago is the 3rd largest intermodel port in the world. I'll bet that Chicago easily carries more goods via rail and trucking than New York.

Actually, Chicago is the 3rd largest intermodel port in the world. I'll bet that Chicago easily carries more goods via rail and trucking than New York.
Pay up:
http://tinypic.com/4j3l6u

http://tinypic.com/4j3lnk
Well I am going by Foreign Tonnage. New York City 1, Houston 2, Los Angeles 3... when I say Houston has numero dos in the country.

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/state_info/illinois/transwater_chi.jpg

look at SF! http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/state_info/california/tk_sanfrancisco.jpg

for chicago outside of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, the flow becomes drastically smaller.

Look at how Lake Michigan is like a barrier that makes all of the northern roads flow into Chicago. (you cant travel from the NW to the NE without hitting Chicago(or the UP of Michigan or Canada, but few people go there, everyone perfered chicago)

The Los Angeles Long Beach Port Complex is the third busiest in the world, and i believe that over 50% of products entering the US go through the port complex. It is by far the busiest port in America.I couldnt find a rail map but ill keep on looking.

Pay up:
http://tinypic.com/4j3l6u

http://tinypic.com/4j3lnk
Well I am going by Foreign Tonnage. New York City 1, Houston 2, Los Angeles 3... when I say Houston has numero dos in the country.

Pay up for what? You haven't proved anything! Plus, your data is laughably out of date. It's 2005 not 1998.

Unless you man the port cranes or you're a trucker, who cares about tonnage? 100 tons of lima beans could still be worth less than 100 pounds of computer chips. Economic value is far more important because it's the ultimate goal of trade to begin with. LA/LB is the busiest in the Western Hemisphere and #3 in the world by value of trade with NY/NJ following.

with the largest ports being in the cities with the worst traffic, is anything done to move these goods through the city so they dont have to sit on the regular travel lanes? with all the HOV lanes in cities, maybe truck lanes that get trucks to and from the major interstates to the ports would help out traffic. we all know that a car can do stop/go traffic a lot easier than a fully loaded truck.

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/state_info/washington/seattle_combtrks.jpg

with the largest ports being in the cities with the worst traffic, is anything done to move these goods through the city so they dont have to sit on the regular travel lanes? with all the HOV lanes in cities, maybe truck lanes that get trucks to and from the major interstates to the ports would help out traffic. we all know that a car can do stop/go traffic a lot easier than a fully loaded truck.

LA invested $2.4 billion on the grade-seperated alameda corridor rail trench. But so far it's been underutilized, pending a 2nd phase extension.

The Los Angeles Long Beach Port Complex is the third busiest in the world, and i believe that over 50% of products entering the US go through the port complex. It is by far the busiest port in America.I couldnt find a rail map but ill keep on looking.

You are right. If you add LA and Long Beach together, which you should because they are right next to each other, they are the third busiest ports in the world. Right behind Singapore and Hong Kong, which are pretty much at the same level.

with the largest ports being in the cities with the worst traffic, is anything done to move these goods through the city so they dont have to sit on the regular travel lanes? with all the HOV lanes in cities, maybe truck lanes that get trucks to and from the major interstates to the ports would help out traffic. we all know that a car can do stop/go traffic a lot easier than a fully loaded truck.

West coast ports are just a mess. The LA/Long Beach ports have rail and trucking problems and could easily find more shipping lines to stop there if they had the space and ability to move the goods out. The bay area is is also near peak. Seattle/Tacoma is very busy and very far from other large population centers, but even still some shipping lines are looking at shipping into Vancouver freight bound for the US.

Freight could be trucked to the west half of the country from ports on the Gulf of Mexico, but so many of the new ships are Panamax and are to big for the Panama Canal, which they obviously must cross through if they are coming from the booming Asian countries. (eg, CHINA).

Here is an article from the Daily News about LA area trade. Thought it might revive this thread.

L.A. bursting at trade seams

Annual record of $302.1 billion projected

By Gregory J. Wilcox, Staff Writer

The value of international trade through the Los Angeles Customs District, the nation's biggest, should hit a record $302.1 billion this year but the powerful sector faces tough challenges, chief among them congestion, according to a forecast that will be released today.

It will be the third consecutive dollar volume record, an anticipated increase of 14.3 percent, while the number of containers moving through the district will increase 9.9 percent to 14.4 million units, a new high for the fourth year in a row, according to a forecast from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

The majority of that activity occurs at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach but also includes Ontario and Los Angeles international airports, McCarran Field in Las Vegas, Port Hueneme in Ventura County and small oil terminals along the coast.

The report will be released today at a breakfast that kicks off International Trade Week, an event that started here 79 years ago.

"The Los Angeles area is a major international business center and one of the key pieces of infrastructure for the United States international trade industry," said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the nonprofit economic development corporation.

International trade is the county's biggest employer and accounts for the second-most jobs in the five-county region. It takes place in all of the counties but the direct dollar contribution cannot be measured, economic development executives said.

"It's got an enormous impact out here. I wish I had a number," said Bruce Ackerman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley. "The problem we have is you don't see international trade."

One number stands out, though. Ackerman said that about 3,500 companies in the Valley are involved with the export side.

It's more visible in places like Long Beach, where trucks leave the port and clog the 710 Freeway, and in the Inland Empire, where huge warehouse facilities have been built for major retailers and automakers' distribution networks.

Economist John Husing, owner of the consulting firm Economics & Politics Inc., tracks the Inland Empire and said it's seen a surge in trade-related jobs. For example, there is now 300 million square feet of industrial space in the region and much of it is used to transition goods from the ports to other parts of the country.

"The only thing you can say is that it's big and growing," he said.

It's a good-paying sector, too. For example, in Southern California during 2003, international trade wages averaged $45,314 a year, manufacturing $43,871 and construction $40,439.

So international trade is a critical way to grow blue-collar jobs as manufacturing contracts, he said.

The trade growth spurt started in 1994 when the Los Angeles district surpassed New York as the nation's biggest. It's been that way ever since.

But the district fell from third to fourth place in the world ranking last year behind Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. And imports continue to far outpace exports.

Growth is not going to slow here, though. Port officials predict container traffic between 2000 and 2020 will quadruple to 36 million units a year.

That will continue to add to the congestion at the port, on the freeways and railroad lines that branch out from downtown Los Angeles through communities across the region.

Last October, for example, 93 ships were tied up in San Pedro Bay waiting to unload Christmas cargo. "That just terrified the retail industry," Husing said.

Expansion is necessary, most agree. The hard part is figuring out how to do it.

"The biggest challenge is managing the growth ... balancing it with the community and environmental interests," said Richard D. Steinke, executive director at the Port of Long Beach.

One opponent has been the National Resources Defense Council, which is concerned about port expansion. But the council says it does not have a no-growth stance.

It did sue the Port of Los Angeles over the expansion of the China Shipping Terminal.

The organization recommends plugging ships into dockside generators so their diesel engines can be shut down while unloading.

"We don't oppose thoughtful port expansion that protects local communities from worsening diesel pollution and smog, which cause cancer, asthma and other serious ailments," said Julie Masters, an air quality lawyer at NRDC, in a statement.

Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox@dailynews.com

A snapshot of the local international trade sector:

The sector added 42,600 jobs last year, totaling 404,600 workers.

China was the biggest trading partner, totaling goods valued at $85.6 billion, up 25.4 percent. Imports totaled $75.7 billion.

Electrical products valued at $10.9 billion was the biggest export commodity.

Electronics, valued at $31 billion, was the biggest import commodity.

Source: LAEDC
e

Is it just me or is a lot of junk flowing out of just about everywhere, combine just the states and cities listed and the whole map is solid red....

check out Detroit
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_analysis/state_info/michigan/detroit_combtrks.jpg

you know that major route for Detriot to Texas is going to be future I-69 extention, except it doesnt enter Illinois, but follow the border of Illinois in Indiana and Kentucky.

http://web.myinky.com/I69/I_69finalroute_large.jpg

Truck flows from detriot to Texas is as much as from Detriot to NYC and Detriot to Toronto