The ports followed up landmark July numbers with an even stronger August, collectively handling nearly 1.9 million cargo containers.
In San Pedro, dockworkers at the Port of Los Angeles handled 960,597 containers in August, while those at the neighboring Port of Long Beach moved 913,973 containers. It was Long Beach’s busiest-ever month, while it was L.A.’s busiest month outside of the pandemic-induced backlog surges.
August’s numbers follow a July that saw the ports collectively handle more than 1.8 million TEUs – 20-foot-equivalent units, essentially one container. Port leaders are attributing this ongoing surge to labor negotiations at East Coast competitors and the potential for new tariffs being imposed early next year.
“Cargo diversions and concerns about upcoming tariffs are creating a busy peak season for us,” said Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Mario Cordero. “We’re prepared for the uptick in shipments and continued growth through the rest of the year with a dedicated waterfront workforce, modern infrastructure and plenty of capacity across our terminals.”
Broken down, L.A.’s docks processed 509,363 loaded import TEUs, its highest amount since May 2021. Long Beach’s 456,868 import TEUs are, likewise to its monthly total, its most ever. On the loaded export side, L.A. sent out 121,744 containers and Long Beach handled 104,646 containers.
Growth over a longer time frame
At the eight-month mark, L.A. has handled more than 6.3 million TEUs and Long Beach more than 6 million – increases compared to last year by 17% and about 22%, respectively.
On top of antsy shippers redirecting vessels to the West Coast, observers speculate that they’re also attempting to get ahead of tariffs against China that presidential candidate Donald Trump has promised to enact should he win a second term in November. That’s on top of what typically drives late summer to be the biggest months for ports here: the upcoming holidays.
“The American consumer continues to spend and that’s helping to power our economy,” Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “Some of the cargo arriving now is replenishing inventories even beyond the year-end holiday season. Combined with a steady flow of manufacturing parts and components, we should continue to see elevated volume in the near term.”
Container dwell times – the period in which cargo offloaded from ships is loaded onto drayage trucks or trains and moved out of the complex – similarly hit highs for the year in August.
Truck-bound cargo spent 2.95 days on average at port terminals before being loaded in August, just a slight increase from last August and the longest time since the 3.21-day average recorded in October. Rail-bound cargo saw a more significant jump, with those containers spending an average of 8.2 days at terminals before being loaded; last August, that cargo was loaded after an average of 4.45 days.
“In August, the increases in dwell times reflect the need for ongoing coordination and resilience amongst our logistics partners, as cargo volumes surge and remain high,” said Natasha Villa, external affairs manager of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, in a statement. “The marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are facilitating smooth operations and done a good job of balancing equipment supply and demand in the face of significant year-over-year surges in cargo.”
