West Coast Ports

Special Report

Long Beach considering development of‘ conventional, zero-emissions’ terminal

By Bill Mongelluzzo

The Port of Long Beach is exploring the possibility of developing what its new CEO said would be the“ first conventional, zero-emissions container terminal in the world.” Noel Hacegaba made the announcement during his first State of the Port presentation since taking over as CEO on Jan. 1 following the retirement of Mario Cordero.

Hacegaba said Long Beach has inked an exclusive agreement with Brookfield Infrastructure Group for the potential development of a 1.8 million-TEU terminal designed for vessels of up to 9,000-TEU capacity. The facility, being called the Metro Express Terminal, would be built on Long Beach’ s Pier S and use zero-emission, human-operated equipment, container peel-off operations, 24 / 7 gate access, free-flow cargo stacks and zero-emission trucks, he said.

If it comes to fruition, Brookfield would partner with Nautilus International on the project, further details of which were not disclosed in Hacegaba’ s presentation.

That presentation made clear that the Port of Long Beach will leverage marine terminal expansion, massive investment in intermodal rail connectivity and the creation of a supply chain information highway to handle a projected doubling of container volume by 2050. The port handled a record

Noel Hacegaba CEO, Port of Long Beach

Port of Long Beach( pictured) is investing $ 1.8 billion in its on-dock rail facility, scheduled for completion in 2032. Chizhevskaya Ekaterina / Shutterstock. com

9.9 million laden and empty TEUs in 2025, according to data from the port.

“ According to our latest cargo forecast, 2050 is the year our container volumes will reach 20 million TEUs,” Hacegaba said. Long Beach forecasts it will handle about 9 million TEUs this year, which although down from 2025, will still rank among its top five years, he said.

Long Beach faces an immediate challenge in adjusting to diminishing imports from China due to the Trump administration’ s tariffs, and fewer exports to China because of that country’ s counter tariffs.

“ Six years ago, about 70 % of all our cargo— imports and exports— was tied to China,” Hacegaba said.“ Today that’ s down to 60 %.”

While the tariffs have fostered a shifting of US trade to Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia, it has also highlighted the importance of adding“ speed, precision and reliability” to the Long Beach supply chain as it competes for cargo with other US ports, he said.

On-dock rail, data sharing

Long Beach is investing $ 1.8 billion in its on-dock rail support facility at Pier B, which is scheduled for completion in 2032. By assembling longer intermodal trains on dock rather than at near-dock sites that require a move by truck, the transfer of containers from vessel to train, which now takes slightly less than four days, will be reduced to 24 hours, Hacegaba said.

“ Our terminals are driving the movement of rail to inland points,” he said.“ TTI( Total Terminals International) is already moving more than 50 % of its containers by rail.”

“ Six years ago, about 70 % of all our cargo was tied to China. Today that’ s down to 60 %.”

The proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, which would create the nation’ s first transcontinental railroad, holds the potential for faster, more efficient intermodal service to rail hubs in the eastern half of the country. Also, the announcement in November by BNSF Railway and CSX that they will expand their intermodal partnership for service connecting Long Beach with rail terminals in the Ohio Valley and the Northeast will cut transit times by as much as two days, Hacegaba said.

Five of Long Beach’ s six container terminals last year handled more than 1 million TEUs, with two of those facilities handling more than 2 million TEUs. International Transportation Service and Macquarie Asset Management in July broke ground on a project that will fill in a 19-acre slip at Pier G that will enhance operational efficiency and build a single, continuous wharf measuring 3,400 feet that will accommodate the berthing of two super-post Panamax ships at the same time, Hacegaba said.

Hacegaba also announced that development is beginning on Long Beach’ s CargoNav digital platform

24 Journal of Commerce | February 2, 2026 www. joc. com