Port of Los Angeles Reports Record-Setting July on Surging Imports

The Port of Los Angeles handled a record-breaking 939,600 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in July, marking a 37% increase over the previous year. The volume made it the best July in the port’s 116-year history and the busiest month in more than two years.

Seven months into 2024, the port is now 18% ahead of its 2023 pace.

“We’ve seen an influx of year-end holiday goods coming across our docks a bit earlier than usual to avoid any risk of delay later in the year,” said Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, during a media briefing. “These goods – think toys, electronics, and clothing – are arriving at the same time as more typical back-to-school, fall fashion, and Halloween merchandise. An early peak season has helped to boost volumes here in Los Angeles.”

Paul Bingham, an S&P Global Intelligence economist and data analyst, also attended the briefing and discussed various issues impacting the supply chain, including East Coast dockworker negotiations, Red Sea cargo diversions, and the possibility of additional tariffs, which have prompted shippers to bring in cargo earlier this year.

July 2024 saw loaded imports at the Port of Los Angeles reach 501,281 TEUs, a 38% spike compared to the previous year. Loaded exports came in at 114,889 TEUs, an increase of 4% compared to last year. This was the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year export gains in Los Angeles. The port also processed 323,431 empty containers, a 54% jump compared to 2023.

Overall, the port has moved 5,671,091 TEUs in the first seven months of 2024, an 18% increase over 2023.

Next door, the Port of Long Beach experienced another month of surging import volumes, marking its busiest July on record and the third-busiest month ever as retailers prepared for the peak shipping season. In July, dockworkers and terminal operators there moved 882,376 TEUs, a staggering 52.6% increase from the same month last year, surpassing the previous record set in July 2022 by 12.4%. Imports soared 60.5% to 435,081 TEUs, while exports also grew 16.3% to 104,834 TEUs.

The busy July followed the Port of Long Beach’s record-setting June, when dockworkers and terminal operators moved 842,446 TEUs, up 41.1% from June 2023 and surpassing the previous record.

Meanwhile, the Port of Los Angeles processed 827,757 TEUs in June, marking a 10% increase over the previous month and less than 1% compared to June 2023, which was the port’s best month last year. June 2024 loaded imports at the Port of Los Angeles landed at 428,753 TEUs, a 1.5% decrease compared to the previous year.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) says U.S. imports are expected to continue stay significantly above last year’s volumes for the remainder of the year. The organization expects total U.S. container imports in 2024 to 24.9 million TEUs, up 12.1% from 2023, marking the third-highest annual U.S. import volumes behind 2022 and 2021.