One of the most popular transportation services we offer to the United States are shipments to California. Whether it is express parcels to San Diego, freight to the port of Los Angeles and even air cargo to San Francisco, California is one of the most common places of origin and destination for LA LUNA shipping. Today we want to explain to you which are the most important logistics points in the state of California, a true locomotive for North America.

California, home to some of the most important infrastructure in the United States

California is probably the most important state in the whole of the USA. Its weight in the economy is close to 15%, being the state that has the most weight in this regard. It is also the most populous state, approaching 40 million inhabitants. Among its emblematic places there are real economic giants like Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It is the true economic engine of the United States.

As expected, such economic influence is accompanied by infrastructures to match, in fact, some of the most important in the entire country. Its privileged position along the border has also had a great influence on the role of logistics in this state. We will tell you about it in detail below.

Port of Los Angeles: the sea gateway to the American West

The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach form ‘America’s Port’, one of the main entry and exit points for sea-freight in America and one of the most important harbours in the world. Both ports form a single port of impressive dimensions: no less than 69 km long, 25 cargo terminals, 82 container cranes, 8 container terminals, almost 190 km of railroad tracks. Thanks to this, it offers direct and daily connections with the ports of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

At a logistical level, The Port of Los Angeles (the official name) has enormous relevance for cargo from Asia and in 2019 they moved almost 60 million tons of cargo. The cargo that enters through this port represents 20% of the total cargo that is imported throughout the United States. It is also the first port that was adapted to manage the entry of triple EEA ships in the country.

Port of Oakland, constantly renewed

The gigantic San Francisco Bay, already in northern California, also has a large port. This is the town of Oakland, which was for a long time the largest port on the West Coast and is now the 5th in traffic in the entire United States.

In 2002, it completed its works to offer an intermodal rail transport system and in 2009 its draft was increased to facilitate the entry of large cargo ships. This constant improvement keeps it as one of the ports with the most cargo on the West Coast, capable of continuing to compete with the Pharaonic America's Port of Los Angeles.

* In 2021 the two large ports on the West Coast are congested. Therefore, all ocean freights originating or ending in Los Angeles or Oakland are currently experiencing some delays.

Two of the largest airports in the United States for air cargo

California has two airports of great importance, not only on a national level, but also on a global scale. LAX, Los Angeles airport, is the 4th with the most passenger traffic in the world and 11th in air freight. SFO, San Francisco International Airport, stands out to a lesser extent, being the 24th in traffic worldwide, although this leaves it only one place behind in importance within the United States with respect to LAX.

Both airports have direct cargo connections to Amsterdam, Zaragoza and Frankfurt (among others) in Europe, to the rest of America it offers connections mainly between states and its main connections to Asia and Oceania are Nagoya, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney.

Ground transportation to Mexico from San Diego

The third city by population of California, San Diego, is a strategic point for land freight logistics to Mexico through Tijuana pass. Right on this border is the largest customs crossing between the United States and Mexico, the San Ysidro crossing, and possibly one of the largest transit centers for land goods in America and the world. And it is the 4th most crossed land border in the world.

Land goods cannot use this pass, so trucks are forced to cross through the Otay Mesa Border Crossing or Port of Entry (POE), also located in San Diego. To further streamline this point of access to the United States, controls have been enabled for merchandise in Mexico, prior to crossing the border in a cooperation agreement between the two North American countries.

Our Shipping Services to California

To and from California we offer all our services to both individuals and companies:

• National and international courier and parcel services
• Customs service for imports and exports to the United States
• Air freight services
• Maritime cargo services
• Groupage services

We offer all these services from California to any population in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe. Being one of our destinations and daily transportation origins for any destination you need.

California, a HUB for Northwest Mexico

In addition to offering our most complete services from outside of Spain, in California, and specifically in San Diego, we keep our HUB for imports and shipments to and from Northwest Mexico. Through San Diego airport we manage all types of imports for Tijuana and Baja California with daily air freight connections to Luxembourg-Los Angeles-San Diego.

Shipping to California? Whether we talk about personal effects, parcels, groupage or large loads, count on our transportation and customs services. Contact us by mail at info@laluna.coop or calling one of our international phone numbers.