According to a report from Yahoo Finance, the Port of Long Beach handled a record amount of cargo in 2025 despite a year of trade volatility and unprecedented tariffs. The second-busiest port in the U.S. now expects growth to accelerate.
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Under the leadership of new chief executive Noel Hacegaba, the port plans to invest to be ready to double the cargo it processes by 2050, which is also the year the port is hoping to achieve zero carbon emissions. “We have 24 years to figure this out and ensure we can handle double our capacity,” Hacegaba said.
The forecast predicted the Port of Long Beach will handle the equivalent of 20 million containers in 2050, up from 9.8 million containers last year. Hacegaba, who joined the port in 2010 and began his CEO role on Jan. 1, said he is focused on upgrading the port’s operations, stating that its future depends on investments in infrastructure and efficiency.
“A lot of what I’m going to do as chief executive resembles what a head coach of a football team would do,” Hacegaba said. “I want us to move to a hurry-up offense.”
Managed by the city’s Harbor Department, the port currently handles about $300 billion in cargo annually and supports 2.7 million jobs in the U.S. The port accounts for 534,000 jobs in Los Angeles and Orange counties and 1.14 million jobs in California. Hacegaba is looking forward to increasing those numbers. “If we double our throughput, there’s no question we’re going to need a bigger workforce to handle that,” he said.
After a year under the Trump administration, some things have changed for the port. Trade with China used to account for 70% of the port’s cargo handling, but after President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese exports, that amount has fallen to 60%. Much of the movement has shifted to Vietnam, which takes longer to travel to and from, Hacegaba said.
Breaking cargo records in 2025 “is remarkable when you consider everything that we’ve gone through as an industry and as an economy,” he said. At one point, President Trump imposed a nearly 150% tariff on Chinese goods, but as of November, the tax on many goods from the country was 47%. Trump also imposed steep taxes on imports from other key trade partners, including Mexico and Canada. As a result, cargo volumes varied drastically by month at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles.