Port of L.A. Becomes Nation's Top Trade Gateway

December 29, 2004 10:30 AM, EST

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he Port of Los Angeles became the top international freight gateway in the United States in 2003, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

An estimated $105 billion in imports and $17 billion in exports moved through the port last year, BTS said in a statement Tuesday.

The port handled $10 billion more freight than New York’s JFK International Airport, which fell to the second-ranked international freight gateway. It held the top position since 1999, when the bureau began compiling the information.

The Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, which includes bridges and tunnels connecting the United States and Canada, was third with $102 billion in international shipments, BTS said. The seaport of New York and New Jersey remained at No. 4.

BTS said a total of $2 trillion in U.S. exports and imports moved through the more than 400 international freight gateways across the United States in 2003. About 43% of the freight was handled by the top 10 gateways.

BTS said that at eight of the top 10 hubs, the value of imports exceeded the value of exports.

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