The Port of Los Angeles handled its most ever cargo in a single month, after processing more than 1.04 million twenty-foot equivalent units in September.
According to an October 9 briefing, the port beat its previous single month record set in July 2025 by more than 20,000 TEUs. It also logged its busiest ever third quarter, handling nearly 4 million TEUs between July and September.
“September was a month for the record books, and it was part of an extraordinary run for the Port of Los Angeles,” said Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka.
Seroka credited the strong quarter to resilient consumer demand, and importers who have continued to aggressively replenish inventories, particularly as tariff rates have fallen below levels seen at this time last year. The port benefitted from disruptions brought on by drought conditions at the Panama Canal as well, with many shippers rerouting cargo to Los Angeles to be moved east by truck or rail. Shippers have also been especially motivated to find shorter routes as fuel prices have doubled over the last eight months, Seroka added.
In the months to come, the port expects to see another round of frontloaded cargo, as shippers look to get ahead of the January 10 expiration of a trade truce between the U.S. and China, as well as an earlier-than-usual start to the Lunar New Year in the first week of February.
"This confluence of events means that volume will probably stay a little bit more elevated than normal, and a couple of deadlines that may come to pass are in the minds of supply chain experts around the world," Seroka predicted.
