In a year full of container volume records, the hits just keep on coming for the Port of Los Angeles.
The busiest U.S. container hub saw total volume of 884,315 twenty-foot equivalent units in November — usually a lull period following the peak shipping season — an increase of 16% from November 2023. It was also 15% above the port’s five-year running average for the month of November.
Year to date, the port has processed 9,375,735 TEUs, ahead 19% from the previous year and 5% above the five-year average.
“We are well on pace to exceed 10 million container units for only the second time in our 117-year history,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, in a media briefing.
November loaded imports totaled 458,165 TEUs, up 19% y/y. Loaded exports were 124,117 TEUs, an 11% increase over 2023.
Seroka credited the gains in part to a strong U.S. economy which continues to boost consumer spending, up 0.7% in November and ahead of most analysts’ forecasts.
Some 200 million Americans — three-quarters of all adults — shopped at near-record levels on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, said Seroka, citing National Retail Federation data, adding, “That bodes well for the remaining days of the holiday shopping season.”
Geopolitical issues are also driving increased cargo movement through the port, Seroka said, including unresolved labor contract negotiations on the East and Gulf coasts, as well as frontloading by importers as a hedge against potential tariffs under the incoming Trump administration, and ongoing security concerns in the Red Sea.
Empty containers surged 13% to 302,033 TEUs, evidence, Seroka said, of more imports on the way.
Export gains came as the port aims for even more improvement in that segment. Seroka recently met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Washington to discuss strategies with growers and ranchers, among others, to expand U.S. exports through the port, and as a way to leverage the surplus of empty containers for U.S. ag exporters.
Those efforts have seen early success, he said, as intermodal equipment supplier ConGlobal last week opened a container depot at Wonderful Industrial Park in California’s Central Valley, which, with planned rail service, is expected to speed exports through Los Angeles.
To better manage empties, the port has expanded its Port Optimizer with a new truck appointment reservation system at four of its six container terminals. Seroka said early results are encouraging.
Seroka said all indications are that overall December volumes will approach 900,000 TEUs, the best on record, helping the port get off to a fast start in 2025 as Asia factories push out inventory ahead of the long break for Lunar New Year.
A softening of cargo is seen in late February and early March, but he said forecasting will have to wait for details on trade policy.
Analysts theorize it could be summer or third quarter until tariffs are implemented, Seroka said, leading to a possible decline in container volume after an extended period of frontloading, similar to what was seen in 2018.
Seroka addressed an array of issues in a Q&A with the media:
East Coast port labor impasse
“All we want is fair bargaining and a quick resolution to these debates, but understanding that automation at port terminals is one of the most polarizing issues that we have to discuss today. I trust that incoming President Trump will have the same mindset of keeping folks at the table, and moving the dialogue forward [as Biden officials did to end the strike by dockworkers in October]. It is my view that all ports in the United States need to be running at top speed to fuel this economy.
“There are forecasts for a strong economy in 2025, and we don’t want a segment of the supply chain to hold that back. The workers have to be paid, and have to have good work rules in this collective bargaining agreement. In Los Angeles we are running at about 80% of capacity and we have room to grow if there are continued shifts of cargo our way. I am confident we have room to grow here should we be able to help out and in a short period of time, be the gateway of choice for others while this negotiation is ongoing.”
Port rail service
“We’ve had our ups and downs this year; it’s been very interesting. Six to seven weeks ago, rail dwell time was nearly 8 1/2 days. Today it’s under 4 1/2. We had 8,800 containers [sitting] nine days or longer; today it’s about 1,500. We’ve seen Union Pacific and BNSF working around the clock trying to help solve these issues, with engine power, crewing and railcars trying to match up imports and exports better than ever, working with stakeholders to get the cargo out. No one’s claiming victory; there’s a lot more work to do.”
Port automation
“Automation at the Port of Los Angeles spans two terminals: TraPac at Wilmington and Pier 400, the APM Terminals facility. Long Beach container terminal also has an automated facility in place today. So three of 12 terminals have an automated environment. Automated stacking cranes, straddle carriers and rail-mounted gantry cranes in Los Angeles, and in the Port of Long Beach there’s a guided automated vehicle concept. The results have been mixed thus far. Some have opined that productivity is not that great, but the costs have been dropped and longer hours of operation can be obtained.
“As for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract language dating to 2008, maybe some promises have not been lived up to. And maybe jobs lost to automation have been deeper than what was anticipated. Yet longshore productivity in LA-Long Beach is up about 32% over the past decade. Could it have been more? Possibly. Our job is to bring as much cargo in here and create as many job opportunities and work hours that are possible. And we want to keep going in that direction.”
The port is developing a goods movement campus to train new workers and offer upskilling for older workers.
New vessel alliances
“The effects are yet to be seen. There will be a few tweaks in 2025. We’re awaiting the new waterborne deployment schedules, terminal IDs. The new Port Optimizer enables us to see cargo 40 days before it arrives in Los Angeles. That gives us plenty of time to socialize what the volume looks like, the breakdown between truck and rail, talking with key stakeholders to figure out where volume is coming from and where it is going to, to better facilitate moving the cargo seamlessly.”
Mexico trade flows
“We’re seeing a surge in manufacturing in Mexico, not in finished products from China but inputs that go into the manufacturing sector. Here in Los Angeles we’re enjoying some of that business as well. Whether it’s cargo that comes into LA and gets trucked down to Mexicali on the Baja Peninsula, or taking a doublestack train over to El Paso to cross the Zaragoza Bridge into Juarez, or continue on into Nuevo Laredo crossing at Laredo, Texas.”
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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