The Port of Los Angeles handled 1,042,652 TEUs in September, the busiest month in its 118-year history. Volume rose 18% from 883,053 TEUs a year earlier. It beat the previous record of 1,019,837 TEUs set in July 2025.
Loaded imports rose 19% to 545,696 TEUs, 26% above the port’s five-year average for September, Executive Director Gene Seroka said. Loaded exports rose 10% to 125,751 TEUs. Empty containers reached 371,206 TEUs, the most the port has handled in any month.
The port moved nearly 3 million TEUs from July through September, its busiest quarter on record. It has handled nearly 8.1 million TEUs so far this year, more than 3% ahead of the same period last year.
Seroka credited steady consumer demand, inventory restocking and tariffs lower than earlier in the year. He also cited problems on the Suez and Panama Canal routes which are pushing Asian cargo to the West Coast.
Cargo moving inland by rail has been slower to leave the docks as volumes climbed.
Rail-bound containers spent an average of 6.75 days at Los Angeles and Long Beach terminals in August, the longest in a year, according to Pacific Merchant Shipping Association data. Truck-bound containers averaged 2.95 days.
Seroka expects about 900,000 TEUs in October, with cargo still backed up in China after two typhoons interrupted port operations. He named one risk to that outlook: “another social media post or announcement on trade from Washington that could create some sort of uncertainty once again,” per Reuters.
