AAPA Seaports
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK: Ports Focus on the Future —
To be at a port is to witness motion. Vehicles and equipment, people and cargo, ocean waves and coastal animals…there is always something or someone moving at a port. While ports themselves remain fixed in place, many for hundreds of years and often despite weather events that can damage facilities, ports also always are moving – through time.
The Western Hemisphere’s ports may be physically standing still, but they are always moving forward – planning and executing strategic visions when it comes to business development, infrastructure projects and environmental and community leadership. They are also ready to react to events and industry changes that may come at them with little or no warning.
No matter how busy ports may be in the present day, they never lose sight of the future.
This fall, AAPA will hold its Annual Convention in Long Beach, and the Port of Long Beach has promised to showcase the “Green Port of the Future” – a bold vision for a strong business foundation, world-class infrastructure, environmental leadership and community partnerships. In this issue of Seaports magazine, we build on the Annual Convention theme to focus on the future of ports.
Sometimes focusing on the future means having a vision for where your organization is headed – or where it can go with the right set of decisions. For many ports, this means finding niche cargos to handle. Not every port can handle every type of cargo well, and many of AAPA’s members – be they large or small – succeed because they know what they want to be known for and are smart about figuring out how to grow. As ports investigate the possibilities of new business lines, they have important decisions to make. Successful ports don’t limit their future opportunities but also are careful not to grow in a haphazard or unsustainable way.
By Kurt J. Nagle, President & CEO, American Association of Port Authorities
