Port of Los Angeles Tops 1 Million TEUs in Record June

By Lori Ann LaRocco – The Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s busiest container seaport, processed more than 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in June, making it the busiest June in the port’s 118-year history.

“It was also our third-best month ever, and the third time we’ve crossed the 1 million TEU threshold,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. “No other port in the Western Hemisphere has hit the million mark even once.”

Seroka said the port handled 535,000 import TEUs in June, up 13% year over year and 18% above the five-year average, making it the third-highest import month on record.

“Containers are moving differently,” Seroka said. “Many retailers are making strategic decisions and have stepped away from traditional seasonal shipping patterns, advancing cargo whenever they see an opening rather than waiting for perfect conditions.”

Seroka said uncertainty surrounding fuel costs and tariffs is making it increasingly difficult to forecast cargo volumes for the second half of the year.

“The data suggest another solid month with cargo volume above 900,000 container units,” Seroka said. “Beyond that, the situation is dynamic. Retailers are adapting in real time, and conditions keep changing with trade policy. After July 24, the Section 122 tariffs expire, but we’re expecting the Section 301 tariffs.”

While June imports were strong, exports remained essentially flat at 126,000 TEUs. Meanwhile, shipments of empty containers back to Asia—a closely watched indicator of future demand—rose 17% year over year to 345,000 TEUs.

“Consumers are still buying,” Seroka said.

Still, he warned that the conflict with Iran and upcoming tariff changes pose risks to supply chains and transportation costs.

Seroka said rising fuel prices are particularly concerning for ocean carriers, railroads and trucking companies.

“They move about two-thirds of all the Port of LA’s cargo in and out every single day,” Seroka said. “At the pump here in Southern California, gasoline prices are up 18% to 20% from a year ago. Diesel prices remain elevated at more than 25% higher, and that’s a major concern for the majority of our truckers in the harbor community.”

Douglas Irwin, professor of economics at Dartmouth College, said the forced-labor tariffs are largely a continuation of the existing Section 122 tariffs and do not represent a major policy shift.

“The big uncertainty is the excess-capacity Section 301 tariffs,” Irwin said. “We haven’t had an announcement yet on what those rates are going to be or how they’re going to differ across countries. I think it’s very unlikely they’ll be at some low, flat level across all countries.”

Instead, Irwin said the administration could implement a structure similar to the “Liberation Day” tariffs.

“I think it’s more likely that we’ll get something replicating what we saw with Liberation Day—higher tariff rates that vary across countries depending on how much they’re contributing, in the administration’s view, to the problem of excess capacity,” he said. “That’s the big unknown, and we’re all waiting to see.”

Seroka also warned that higher bunker fuel costs are likely to ripple through global supply chains.

“Fuel now probably accounts for more than 30% of a vessel’s voyage cost,” he said. “This is real money for the shipping lines.”

He said carriers will likely respond by raising bunker adjustment factors, or fuel surcharges, that are ultimately passed on to importers and exporters.

“Typically, shipping lines use a formula that looks at fuel costs over a three-month period before they can adjust those surcharges,” Seroka said. “That’s what’s coming next. You’ll see those surcharges increase, and even when fuel prices eventually decline, those surcharges tend to remain elevated for some time before they return to levels that more accurately reflect current fuel costs.”

For the first half of 2026, the Port of Los Angeles processed 5.1 million TEUs, 3% ahead of last year’s pace and 4% above the five-year average.

June also marked the end of the port’s fiscal year, with total throughput reaching 10.4 million TEUs—making it one of the strongest fiscal years in the port’s history.

Despite ongoing uncertainty, Seroka said cargo owners continue to adapt.

“We’re operating in a dynamic cargo environment,” he said. “The first half of the year was stronger than many expected. That momentum has been built through planning, investing and adapting to change.”

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