Peak season continues at the San Pedro Bay port complex, where more than 1.87 million TEUs of cargo containers were processed in August.
The superlatives continue to mount as trans-Pacific trade volumes remain at an all-time peak. August caps an all-time best three-month stretch for the Port of Los Angeles, while it was the Port of Long Beach’s strongest August on record.
The reason? Upcoming winter holidays and the retailers who want to make sure shelves are stocked for American purchasing power.
“We’ve put together an exceptionally strong summer in Los Angeles,” said Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka at his monthly media briefing. “Resilient consumer demand, early holiday shipments and a broad mix of cargo have all contributed to that strength.”
The numbers
In August, stevedores at the Port of L.A. handled 955,907 TEUs – 20-foot-equivalent units, used to measure cargo containers which vary greatly in size – of cargo, while their peers at the Port of Long Beach handled 919,992.
Broken down, that included 500,302 loaded import TEUs at L.A. and 456,100 TEUs at Long Beach. On the loaded export side, there were 115,561 TEUs sent out of L.A. and 99,754 TEUs at Long Beach. The remaining sum comprises empty containers moving in either direction through the ports.
On the year, more than 13.7 million TEUs have moved through the ports, putting it on track for another banner year despite trade uncertainty brought on by geopolitical conflicts and President Donald Trump’s mercurial trade policies. The strength of the American consumer has typically been pointed to as the primary explanation.
“Our August numbers tell us that shippers continue to adapt to tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty and are confident in the Port of Long Beach’s ability to deliver,” Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Noel Hacegaba said at his media briefing. “The numbers also show that the Port is a safe and secure harbor that customers can count on.”
Brian Dodge, chief executive of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, told Seroka at L.A.’s media briefing that retailers should be stocked up for the winter holidays now and that remaining shipments this year will be to replenish inventory as normal.
“We’ve had an incredibly resilient consumer over the course of the last several years through a variety of different disruptions,” Dodge said. “The same seems to be the case right now as we head into the holiday shopping season.”
Bigger picture
Research from Jones Lang Lasalle backs up a strong logistics picture for the ports and L.A.’s South Bay.
The first half of the year was the ports’ third strongest start in their history, with nearly 10 million TEUs processed, an increase by 2.6% from last year. Additionally, 24 of the past 26 months have seen cargo volumes in excess of the five-year average. The ports combined to handle about 31% of the entire United States’ imports for the first half of the year.
Cargo itself is shifting as well. About 61% of import cargo through L.A.-Long Beach comprises machinery and technology, with about 15% represented by consumer goods.
Industrial leasing in the South Bay is also up, with the 28.8 million square feet of new industrial leases being the second highest quarter of leasing on record for the region.
