Ports Briefs: POLB Cargo Slows as Clean Truck Study and Air Quality Report Highlight Progress

Port of Long Beach Sees Cargo Dip in September

Softening consumer demand and rising prices driven by shifting trade policies led to a decline in cargo containers moved through the Port of Long Beach in September.

Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 797,537 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo containers last month, down 3.9% from September 2024. Imports decreased 6.9% to 388,084 TEUs and exports declined 3.6% to 85,081 TEUs. Empty containers moving through the port inched up by 161 containers to 324,372 TEUs.

“Tariffs are impacting how consumers and business owners make financial decisions and purchases,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “Our Supply Chain Information Highway digital cargo tracker is forecasting a relatively stable October, followed by a slight decline in November due to anticipated weather-related delays and vessel scheduling changes.”

The port has moved 7,390,245 TEUs through the first nine months of 2025, up 6.8% from the same period in 2024. It was also the Port’s second-busiest quarter on record with 2,643,614 TEUs moved between July 1 and Sept. 30.

San Pedro Bay Ports Release Final Drayage Truck Feasibility Assessment

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have released a final report on the current state and overall feasibility of using cleaner drayage truck technologies to help reduce air pollution in the San Pedro Bay port complex and reach the zero-emissions or ZE goals adopted in the 2017 Clean Air Action Plan or CAAP update.

The Final 2024 Class 8 Drayage Truck Feasibility Assessment Report focuses on battery electric and fuel cell electric trucks. It can be downloaded from the CAAP website, here.

The ports released a draft assessment in June 2025 for public review and comment. Previous assessments were conducted in 2018 and 2021. Following the CAAP framework for feasibility assessments, the 2024 report evaluates the feasibility of Class 8 ZE drayage trucks across five key areas: technical, commercial, operational, economic and infrastructure viability. The 2024 report shows a continued increase in the feasibility of ZE trucks compared to the previous assessments, a trend also reflected in the more than 600 ZE vehicles currently in operation throughout the San Pedro Bay port complex.

The 2017 CAAP Update established goals of ZE trucks by 2035 and ZE terminal equipment by 2030. As part of this strategy, the ports developed periodic feasibility assessments for drayage trucks and terminal equipment to inform the ports’ approach to meeting those goals. 

Port of Los Angeles Strategies Continue to Deliver Clean Air Gains

LOS ANGELES – The Port of Los Angeles is furthering its progress in reducing pollution from all sources that move cargo through its gateway. In 2024, when the Port saw a 19% year-over-year increase in container volume, it recorded its best year ever for reducing emissions on a per container basis, according to the port’s new inventory of air emissions released Oct. 16. 

Since 2005, the port has cut overall emissions of diesel particulate matter (DPM) by 90%, sulfur oxides (SOx) by 98% and nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 73%. For every 10,000 containers, emissions of DPM, SOx and NOx are down 93%, 99% and 81%.

Each year, the port inventories air pollution from ships, trucks, trains, harbor craft and cargo-handling equipment to measure the results of its clean air strategies and programs. The port also evaluates its progress on a per container basis to analyze the efficiency of its pollution reduction initiatives. The new report is based on trade activity during calendar year 2024.

In addition to ground-level pollution, the port’s clean air strategies target greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. Overall, port measures have resulted in an 18% reduction in GHGs since 2005. On a per container basis, GHGs are down 40%. 

In 2024, the port handled nearly 10.3 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent units (TEUs), the standard measurement for international containers. The 19% year-over-year jump in container volume is the largest annual percentage increase in port history. The increase led to single-digit increases of DPM and SOx emissions, up 6% and 5% from 2023. NOx emissions remained flat at their 2023 level. GHGs, the most challenging group of emissions to tackle, increased 18%.

Long-term trends and strategies reducing emissions include fewer ships, each with greater capacity, delivering more cargo. With these newer, more efficient vessels calling at the port, container ship arrivals have fallen 34% while container volume has grown 38% since 2005.