With American ports in the eye of the global trade storm, Port of Long Beach’s new chief executive, Dr. Noel Hacegaba, was invited to this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he joined a pan-global discussion on the future of trade, supply chains and economic resilience.
“This is my first time attending the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, and I see it as a valuable opportunity to engage directly with leaders who are shaping global policy and markets,” said Hacegaba, in a release, and who also serves as president of the California Association of Port Authorities. “Ports sit at the intersection of trade, geopolitics, climate and technology, making Davos a unique forum to discuss how supply chains can remain resilient, sustainable and secure in a rapidly changing world.”
Long Beach and its Los Angeles sister port are the busiest container hubs in the United States. LA handled more than 10 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2025; Long Beach volume was 9.9 million TEUs.
“The value of the World Economic Forum is less about geography and more about who is in the room and the willingness to engage across borders,” said Hacegaba, the only representative of a U.S. seaport at the summit. “That kind of candid dialogue remains essential at a time of heightened global uncertainty.”
During his visit, Hacegaba met with leading transportation and supply chain companies for conversations on the impacts of evolving trade policy including the effects of tariffs on cargo flows.
“Trade policy changes tend to introduce uncertainty,” he said. “For the Port of Long Beach, that can result in shifts in cargo timing, sourcing strategies and routing decisions, often creating short-term volatility even when long-term demand remains strong.”
The southern California port complex saw volumes weaken in 2025 as President Donald Trump’s trade war on China whipsawed imports and exports across the trans-Pacific shipping lanes. That came against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and shifting partnerships that signaled a worldwide reset in trade. Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom also attended the Forum.
In the coming decade Long Beach plans $3.2 billion in capital improvements to build capacity and sustainability.
Hacegaba also participated in roundtable discussions with Cabinet-level officials from the United States, including Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick; ministers from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, and CEOs from the world’s largest shipping, logistics and transportation companies and business leaders.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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