Year-over-year cargo volumes dipped at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach but remained nothing to sneer at either.
The twin ports anchoring the San Pedro Bay – which collectively are the gateway for about a third of the nation’s imports – handled nearly 1.66 million TEUs of cargo in January, an 11.6% decline. It was also their second-largest January haul since the Covid-19 pandemic-induced logjam.
And at the Port of Long Beach, new Chief Executive Noel Hacegaba could claim the crown as being the busiest seaport in the United States for the month.
“We are leading the nation in trade and providing a safe harbor in the sea of tariff and trade uncertainty for our customers and the goods movement industry,” Hacegaba said at a news conference in February. “No matter what happens with cargo volume, the Port of Long Beach has the capacity, infrastructure and workforce to move goods quickly, efficiently and reliably.”
Tariffs remain a major influence on cargo patterns – and add important context to the volume dips. As Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka pointed out, these volumes run in comparison to a year ago, when imports skyrocketed in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s tariffs that would eventually make trade more expensive for everyone.
“Second, inventories remain slightly higher, reflecting the earlier cargo surge and a more cautious restocking pace,” he said.
Breaking down numbers
Of the Port of L.A.’s 812,000 total TEUs – 20-foot equivalent units, which is the industry measurement for cargo – dockworkers handled 421,594 loaded imports, a 13% drop. They also loaded 104,297 export TEUs, an 8% dip.
At the Port of Long Beach, dockworkers handled 847,765 TEUs, of which 409,818 were loaded imports (down 13%) and 99,478 loaded exports (up by less than a percent).
The remaining sum is reflected by empty containers moving in or out of the ports.
These numbers, of course, predate the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that invalidated his administration’s tariffs invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. However, Trump’s follow-up move was to enact temporary across-the-board tariffs – first at 10% and then 15%.
“While this decision ruled on the legality of the IEEPA tariffs, it did little to remove the uncertainty we’ve seen – and continue to see – across the global supply chain,” Hacegaba said.
Legally, these new tariffs last 150 days and can only be made permanent by Congress. We shall see how this affects patterns in the coming months.
“U.S. trade policy continues to keep everyone on edge,” Seroka said. “However, the American consumer has shown remarkable resilience. And purchase orders that go out three months in advance to Asia look stable, a good sign.”
Dwell times are mixed bag
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association reported a mixed bag on dwell times, which measure the period from which cargo is moved off a ship and loaded onto drayage trucks or railcars.
Truck-bound cargo dwell times were 2.75 days – an increase by hours from December but an improvement by about a day from the prior January. Rail-bound cargo, meanwhile, had an average time of 6.14 days – a day longer than December but a day shorter than the prior January.
“Performance in Southern California continues to reflect stable intermodal operations supported by coordination among terminal operators, drayage providers and rail partners,” said Natasha Villa, external affairs manager of the PMSA, in a statement.
