Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach Post Busiest Months Ever, POLA Eclipses 1 Million Container Units

LOS ANGELES — July was the busiest month on record in the 117-year history of the Port of Los Angeles. The port handled 1,019,837 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), 8.5% more than last July. Retailers and manufacturers brought in goods at an elevated pace due to concerns of higher tariffs later this year.

“Shippers have been frontloading their cargo for months to get ahead of tariffs and recent activity at America’s top port really tells that story,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “Port terminals in July were jam-packed with ships loaded with cargo, processed without any delay—much to the credit of our dedicated longshore workers, terminal and rail operators, truckers, and supply chain partners.”

Dr. Zachary Rogers, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management at Colorado State University and a lead author of the Logistics Managers Index, joined Seroka for the briefing. Rogers discussed the impacts of tariffs on transportation, warehousing and inventory.                    

WATCH BRIEFING HERE

July 2025 loaded imports came in at 543,728 TEUs, 8% more than last year and the most imports ever in a month at the port. Loaded exports landed at 121,507 TEUs, a 6% improvement from 2024. The port processed 354,602 empty container units, 10% more than last year.

Seven months into 2025, the Port of Los Angeles has handled 5,975,649 TEUs, 5% more than the same period in 2024.

   Also in Long Beach a pause in tariffs in recent months lifted the Port of Long Beach to its most active July on record and the third-busiest month in its 114-year history.

Dockworkers and terminal operators processed 944,232 twenty-foot equivalent units in July, up 7% from the previous record set in July 2024. Imports rose 7.6% to 468,081 TEUs and exports declined 12.9% to 91,328 TEUs. Empty containers moving through the port increased 12.3% to 384,824 TEUs. 

“Retailers are now seeing the arrival of goods that were purchased for lower costs during the temporary pause placed on tariffs and retaliatory tariffs earlier this year,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “Due to the ongoing uncertainty caused by shifting trade policies, our Supply Chain Information Highway digital tracking tool forecasts that cargo will be down about 10 percent in the second half of 2025, resulting in a flat year for volume.”

“We appreciate our terminal operators, truckers, dockworkers and all the individuals who are moving cargo through the Port at a record-setting pace,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Frank Colonna. “We continue to work closely with labor and industry to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

The port has moved 5,690,863 TEUs through the first seven months of 2025, up 10% from the same period in 2024.