News — (Carson, CA) At a public forum on Wednesday, March 23, members of the California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) South Bay Economics Institute will unveil their latest study on the current position of California’s freight system compared with other states’, and policy recommendations to increase California’s supply chain competitiveness.
The study, "," was prompted by the recent relocations of several major California-based companies, including Tesla, Oracle, and Toyota, to competing states, such as Texas.
Through a $69,489 grant from the CSU Transportation Consortium at the Mineta Transportation Institute, CSUDH Associate Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management Jian-Yu (Fisher) Ke and his fellow researchers’ goal was to determine supply chain performance metrics that contribute to a competitive freight system and evaluate if the state’s system was contributing to companies moving their operations.
"CSUDH was the perfect place for this study," says Ke. "In this area, we have both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are the top two ports in the United States—the gateway of the U.S. supply chain. We also have a lot of highly qualified faculty who have expertise in these areas—a team that was ready and able to address this topic."
The research team involved in the project included Ke, along with the co-directors of CSUDH’s South Bay Economic Institute—Fynnwin Prager, associate professor of Public Administration, and Jose N. Martinez, associate professor of Economics—as well as Chris Cagle from the South Bay Workforce Investment Board.
Researchers worked to establish and test performance metrics for each freight segment (ports, railroad, or trucking, for example) through structured interviews with key industry stakeholders. According to Ke, freight competitiveness has five sectors: seaports, airports, highways, freight rail, and distribution centers.
"In analyzing these five sectors, our findings show that California is very competitive in terms of our seaports and airports," he says. The study found that Southern California’s major weaknesses are its highways and distribution centers. In terms of area highways, “The traffic is a big issue,” Ke says. "We don't have reliable travel times. Trucks spend too much time on the road."
"As for distribution centers, the cost of doing business is very high," he adds. "We have among the highest costs in the nation for fuel, electricity, and land, which reduces the attractiveness of California to many companies."
The group’s recommendations include significant investments to reduce highway congestion and improve travel time reliability. They also suggest expanding seaport container terminals and air cargo handling facilities, and increasing automation to help manage the flow of trucks, containers, and cargo.
Providing more intermodal connections between ports and other transport modes is essential, according to the report. It suggests that California should consider investing in “inland ports,” so that goods could be transported by rail directly from seaports to inland processing facilities in the Inland Empire and Central Valley.
Ke is hopeful that the federal government will be able to pass an infrastructure bill that would help pay for some of the upgrades. "President Biden is pushing for it," he says. "If it does pass, we could greatly enhance our highway infrastructure. Our bridges are old and our highways need maintenance. If an infrastructure bill passes, we could definitely make a lot of improvements."
Note to editors: CSUDH is hosting the public forum in which the research and findings of the freight study will be presented. It will take place on March 23 from 12-1:30 p.m. in the Loker Student Union, Ballroom C, at CSUDH (1000 E. Victoria St., Carson) and via Zoom at . Visit for a campus map. The forum is free to attend and open to all.
Jian-yu Ke is also available for interview.
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About California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills, centrally located in the Greater Los Angeles South Bay region, is a model urban university with a wide range of academic programming, providing accessible, high quality, and transformative education to students aspiring to succeed and thrive in a complex, global society. Since 1960, CSUDH has served a diverse community of learners and educators collaborating to change lives and communities for the better. A national model and laboratory for student success, the university offers a proven path to opportunity and social equity, advancing a college-focused culture in the communities it serves while providing vital resources of knowledge, talent, and leadership to the Greater Los Angeles region and beyond. Today, CSUDH boasts over 110,000 alumni – doctors, scientists, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs – who are leaders in education, health, technology, entertainment, public service, and business, making a difference in their fields, in people’s lives, and in their communities. For more information, visit .
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