Increased traffic due to shippers frontloading cargo to get ahead of new Trump tariffs
July was the busiest month on record in the 117-year history of the Port of Los Angeles. The Port handled 1,019,837 TEUs, 8.5 per cent more than in the year-earlier period. The port authority said the rise was due to retailers and manufacturers brining in goods at an elevated pace due to concerns of higher tariffs later this year.
“Shippers have been frontloading their cargo for months to get ahead of tariffs and recent activity at America’s top port really tells that story,” said the port’s executive director Gene Seroka.
“Port terminals in July were jam-packed with ships loaded with cargo, processed without any delay—much to the credit of our dedicated longshore workers, terminal and rail operators, truckers, and supply chain partners.”
Loaded exports landed at 121,507 TEUs, a 6 per cent improvement from 2024. The Port processed 354,602 empty container units, 10 per cent more than last year.
So far in 2025, the port has handled 5,975,649 TEUs, 5 per cent more than the same period in 2024.
