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Cargo numbers at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach remained strong in August, but officials expect import figures to ease for the remainder of the year.
There are two factors at play. One is that the second half of last year saw unusually high-cargo activity, meaning even a return to normal volumes would represent a “downturn” by comparison. The second is that shippers, likely anxious about shifting trade policies, front-loaded much of their holiday season cargo ahead of time this year.
Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of L.A., noted that the nearly 2 million containers processed at this port in July and August represented the best two-month stretch of any western hemisphere port.
“Retailers and manufacturers have continued to bring goods in early, both to get ahead of holiday demand and to hedge against any shifts in trade policy,” he said during his monthly media briefing.
“Looking forward,” Seroka added, “I expect container volumes to ease through the rest of 2025 – especially against last year’s unusually high benchmarks. That’s because much of the year-end holiday cargo has already arrived. And economic signals like slowing job growth and lingering inflation are making both importers and consumers a bit more cautious.”
Dockworkers at the Port of L.A. in August processed 958,355 cargo containers, while those at the Port of Long Beach handled 901,846 containers. Respectively, these numbers were down about 2,000 containers and 12,000 containers from last year.
Broken down, 504,514 loaded imports moved through L.A. – a 1% decrease. Meanwhile, the 440,318 imports through Long Beach dropped 3.6%. On the loaded export side, L.A. moved 127,379 containers – up 5% – and Long Beach moved 95,960 – down 8.3%. The remaining sum represents empty containers moving in either direction.
The combined figure of more than 1.86 million containers moved in August was the third highest volume this year.
The back-and-forth nature of tariffs this year has shifted trans-Pacific shipping patterns, provoking a rush to get goods to the U.S. before a trade war develops. The administration of President Donald Trump has particularly focused on China in terms of forming a new trade agreement.
“Shifting trade policies continue to create uncertainty for businesses and consumers,” said Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Mario Cordero in a statement. “Our Supply Chain Information Highway digital tracker is projecting our peak shipping season to be on pace with last year as retailers start to stock their warehouses in preparation for the winter holidays.”
Cargo dwell times – the period in which containers offloaded from ships are loaded onto trucks or railcars to be moved – remained brisk in August and represented varied improvements from last year.
Truck-bound cargo had an average dwell time of 2.73 days, essentially in line with most of the year. Rail-bound cargo had average dwell times of 4.98 days, in keeping with recent months but a significant improvement from last August’s 8.2 days.
“San Pedro Bay marine terminals have demonstrated their ability to handle containerized cargo efficiently, even accounting for high cargo volumes throughput this summer,” said Natasha Villa, external affairs
manager of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, in a statement. “The ability to maintain steady truck dwell times and further reduce rail dwell reflects the strong coordination between marine terminals, trucking partners, and railroads, ensuring that supply chains remain reliable during peak shipping season.”
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Zane Hill
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