Trans-Pacific shippers in February continued to import at a higher clip from last year, likely in hopes of getting in ahead of new tariffs lobbied against China.

Dockworkers at the Port of Los Angeles moved 801,398 containers of cargo this past February, while those at the Port of Long Beach handled 765,385, year-over-year increases of 2.5% and 13.4%, respectively. The combined total exceeded 1.56 million containers, about 110,000 more than the prior year.

“For 17 of the last 19 months, the Port of Los Angeles has experienced year-over-year cargo growth, all without ship delays or back-ups on our docks,” Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka said during his monthly media briefing. “That’s a testament to the outstanding work of the women and men of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, our terminal operators, truckers, railroads and other stakeholders.”

Broken down, the Port of L.A. had 413,236 loaded import containers – about a 1% bump – while dropping to 109,156 loaded exports, an 18% decline. Meanwhile, the Port of Long Beach had 368,669 loaded imports – up 11.8% – and 90,026 loaded exports, up 2.9%. The remainder sum consists of empty containers moving in or out of the ports.

“Our dockworkers, marine terminal operators and all of our industry partners are processing an extraordinary amount of cargo through this vital trans-Pacific gateway,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Bonnie Lowenthal. “We will continue to rely on our reputation of moving cargo quickly, reliably and sustainably while providing outstanding customer service.”

Preparing for tariff disruption

President Donald Trump’s much ballyhooed tariffs against China are expected to disrupt trade flowing through the San Pedro Bay ports, which are coming off several historic years and remain the primary source of imported goods for the United States.

The two-part tariffs against China total 20%, with the first half taking effect on Feb. 1 and the second on March 3. China responded in kind by levying tariffs of 15% and 10% on varying goods coming from the United States.

“Many retailers and manufacturers have been importing their products through Los Angeles earlier than usual as a hedge against tariffs,” Seroka added. “Given the substantial inventory already here, and the uncertainty of tariffs, it’s possible we could see a 10% volume decline in the second half of the year. Here in Los Angeles, we will continue to look for new opportunities to bring more business through our gateway.”

With 25% tariffs also levied against Canadian and Mexican imports, Trump’s trade war with our three largest trading partners figures to not only affect the flow of goods here, but also their prices once they hit store shelves – economists generally agree that tariffs, like other taxes, are ultimately passed onto customers.

“No matter the situation, the port will remain competitive by delivering exceptional customer service and moving ahead with capital improvement projects that will allow us to grow well into the future,” said Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Mario Cordero.

Movement times fluctuate

Dwell times – that is, the amount of time between when cargo is offloaded from ships and loaded onto drayage trucks or railcars for movement out of the ports – varied in February.

Truck-bound cargo waited an average of 2.81 days before being loaded, a slight drop from the prior February and a significant drop from the 3.25 days in January. Meanwhile, rail-bound cargo continues to generally get longer, with February’s average wait of eight days being nearly two days higher from the prior February and essentially a day longer than January.

“These fluctuations in rail dwell time have been consistent with recent container volumes, and as we approached lunar new year and the tariff headwinds,” said Natasha Villa, external affairs manager of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, in a statement. “We expect these dwell times to show improvements in the coming months.”