A Bright Future for California’s Supply Chain

The importance of California’s supply chain cannot be overstated – it drives one-third of the state’s economy and creates millions of direct and indirect jobs – but the pandemic shed light on its complex and fragile innerworkings. Shifts in demand, labor shortages, and shutdowns related to the pandemic created disruptions that we all felt in our day-to-day lives, altering the goods movement landscape as we used to know it. Fortunately, the state responded strongly and swiftly, allocating billions of dollars for supply chain infrastructure and otherwise strategically planning to allow the state’s goods movement sector to rebound and grow.

Last week, the Bay Area Council hosted one of the masterminds behind the post-pandemic recovery of California’s supply chain, Trelynd Bradley, Deputy Director of Sustainable Freight and Supply Chain Development in the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) as part of the Council’s work under its Goods Movement Subcommittee.

Attendees were able to hear directly from the Governor’s office how the state plans to continue to build a sustainable, resilient, and thriving goods movement throughout California. After a robust presentation covering all corners of the state’s goods movement from California’s ports, to historic investments from the state and federal government for supply chain infrastructure, to California’s critical mineral rich ecosystem and much more, attendees then engaged in a hearty discussion with GO-Biz about the current and future state of the state’s supply chain.

The Council’s Goods Movement Subcommittee meeting is co-chaired by Danny Wan, Executive Director of the Port of Oakland, and Genevieve Cadwalader, Vice President & Investment Officer of Prologis. For questions and to engage more closely in this policy area, please contact Bay Area Council Policy Director Laura Hill.