L.A. Reigns Supreme
Desteia (formerly Auba)
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The Port of L.A. is, once more, the busiest port in North America. And this time, it’s for good reason.
New numbers for the month of July suggest that L.A. handled well over 939,000 TEUs in a single month, bringing the total for the year to over 5.6 million TEUs. This is the port's best performance in the last three years.
The surge in activity comes after a challenging period earlier this year when the port faced power outages due to its transition away from diesel-powered systems toward more environmentally friendly, electric-powered operations. As a result, in June, the Port of Long Beach briefly overtook L.A., handling over 842,000 TEUs compared to L.A.'s 827,000.
However, L.A. bounced back in July with record-high traffic, surpassing Long Beach’s 882,000 TEUs. This recovery marks a 13.5% month-to-month growth and a 37.3% increase compared to July 2023, ending what had been a sluggish summer for the port.
The increase in demand is largely driven by U.S. foreign policy, particularly the imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods by President Biden and the potential for even higher tariffs promised by former President Trump if he is re-elected. These tariffs have led companies to expedite shipments to avoid higher costs, boosting imports at the Port of L.A. which, in recent months, have been the most important activity at the port.
In all, this suggests that L.A. has retaken its dominance aided, in part, by broader political trends. The real question is whether these trends will continue once tariffs take effect or if L.A. is headed for a decrease in activity in the coming months.
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