The City of Los Angeles is "the heart" of Southern California, where every form of transportation comes together. The City is home to the nation's largest port and the sixth largest airport, connecting Los Angeles businesses to the Pacific Rim and beyond. National rail networks directly link the port with U.S. markets both in the west and east of the Rocky Mountains. And L.A. is also home to millions of customers all within easy reach.

Extensive Transportation Network

Keeping people moving and goods flowing smoothly through the Los Angeles region has been a major focus of Mayor Villaraigosa's administration. Whether it's around town or around the world, L.A. has the systems and resources in place to get people and goods to their destinations quickly and affordably.

• The L.A. Customs District is the secondlargest in the U.S., based on containerized cargo volume and total cargo value - approximately $380 billion annually.
• The Port of Los Angeles connects directly with rail lines to destinations east of the Rocky Mountains via the Alameda Corridor, which is the nation's busiest rail cargo expressway.
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has more than 1,000 cargo flights each day and is the world's sixth busiest airport by passenger flights, linking Los Angeles to every corner of the globe.

Large Regional Market

L.A. County is enviable by any measure. We have a population larger than many states, allowing a richness of diversity that is second to none. L.A.'s sheer size provides numerous advantages such as large manufacturing centers, a massive retail base for goods consumption, and leadership in a number of industry sectors.

• There are 10 million people in L.A. County and 18 million in the five-county Los Angeles metropolitan area. This region is larger than the states of Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
• Nearly half of all imported goods passing through L.A. Customs are consumed locally.
• L.A. has a more than $500 billion GDP (19th largest worldwide) that is larger than that of Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Norway and Taiwan.
• A diverse demographic profile (46 percent of the population is foreign born): 96 languages spoken, 600 religious groups, 49 foreign language publications and hundreds of foreign language radio and TV stations.
• Outside of their respective countries of origin, L.A. is home to the world's largest communities of Armenians, Filipinos, Guatemalans, Iranians, Koreans, Mexicans, Salvadorans, Vietnamese, and Thais. The region is also home to the largest Japanese population in the US.

Leader in International Trade

As one of the world's leading gateways, Los Angeles in 2006 became the first customs district in the U.S. to surpass $300 billion in trade for a single year.