The Port of Los Angeles processed more than 960,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in July, putting the shipping hub 7.5% ahead of its five-year average for that month, and marking its second busiest July on record.
In an August 18 briefing, Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka detailed how resilient consumer demand has helped keep imports at historically strong levels. In July, the port brought in nearly 500,000 TEUs in imported cargo, representing a 6% increase from its five-year average for the month. Over the first seventh months of 2026, the POLA also averaged more than 450,000 TEUs in monthly imports, approaching a record high for the port.
However, exports tell a very different story, Seroka added, with the Port of Los Angeles logging an 8% year-over-year dip in July, as weaker demand overseas and ongoing trade tensions with China continued to weigh on shipments of U.S. goods.
Moving forward, Seroka predicted that it will likely be "steady as it goes" for the rest of 2026, with the port expecting to handle another 900,000 TEUs in August, before a "gradual moderation" in the closing months. As the National Retail Federation pointed out in an August 7 release, an earlier peak season in 2026 pulled a larger share of holiday merchandise into U.S. ports during the spring and early summer, leaving less cargo to arrive later in the year.
