The Port of Los Angeles handled 1,042,652 TEUs in September 2026, the busiest month in the port’s 118-year history, surpassing the previous monthly record set in July 2025 by more than 20,000 units.
The record month capped the busiest quarter in port history, with nearly 3 million TEUs handled from July through September, while the four-month stretch from June through September produced nearly 4 million TEUs, also the strongest such period on record.
Loaded imports reached 545,696 TEUs in September, up 19% year-on-year, while loaded exports totalled 125,751 TEUs, up 10%. Empty containers reached approximately 371,206 TEUs, the highest monthly total in port history.
Through the first nine months of 2026, the port has handled nearly 8.1 million TEUs, more than 3% ahead of the same period last year.
Executive Director Gene Seroka attributed the record performance to resilient consumer demand, inventory replenishment by importers, and cargo allocation shifting toward Los Angeles as shippers navigate challenges along Suez Canal and Panama Canal routes.
He also noted that tariffs are lower than levels seen earlier in the year, giving importers greater cost certainty.
Harvard Business School Professor Willy Shih, joining the monthly media briefing, described a broader shift in corporate supply chain strategy from pure cost optimisation toward flexibility in sourcing, manufacturing and cargo routing amid continued global trade uncertainty.
Mayor Karen Bass credited the port’s waterfront workforce, the ILWU and Executive Director Seroka for the historic result, describing the port as an extraordinary economic engine supporting good-paying union jobs and maintaining Los Angeles’s status as a global trade and commerce competitor.
