\n\tCalifornia\u2019s neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach just closed the busiest month in the combined history of the San Pedro Bay gateway, handling 2.04 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September as importers saw more tariff-related cost certainty and routed around turmoil at the Panama and Suez Canals.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Port of Los Angeles<\/a> moved 1,042,652 TEUs in September, the busiest month in its 118-year history and more than 20,000 units above its previous record, set in July 2025.<\/p>\n \n\tLoaded imports<\/a> hit 545,696 TEUs, up 18.6 percent from last September\u2014the 10th time the port has topped 500,000 loaded imports<\/a> in a month, according to executive director Gene Seroka. Loaded exports rose 9.6 percent to 125,751 TEUs, while empties escalated 20.4 percent, hitting a record 371,206 TEUs as carriers rushed boxes back to Asia.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Port of Long Beach<\/a> was writing its own record book, moving 997,177 TEUs last month, beating its previous busiest month of October 2024 (987,191 TEUs) and jumping 25 percent from September 2025\u2019s 797,537 TEUs.<\/p>\n \n\tImports surged 31.3 percent to 509,390 TEUs, exports rose 7.8 percent to 91,747 TEUs and empties climbed 22.1 percent to 396,040 TEUs. Through September, Long Beach has handled 7,675,255 TEUs, up 3.9 percent year over year. The L.A. port is at nearly 8.1 million containers moved, up more than 3 percent.<\/p>\n \n\tCombined between the twin ports, loaded imports totaled 1,055,086 TEUs, up 24 percent year over year.<\/p>\n \n\tLooking ahead to cargo<\/a> readings for this month, Seroka expects the L.A. port to process around 900,000 TEUs in October, and by early November most holiday merchandise should be in the country. The October projections, at minimum, would represent a 6.1 percent increase in containers handled over last year\u2019s 848,424 TEUs.<\/p>\n \n\tDuring a media briefing Friday, Seroka attributed the swell of converging forces: tariffs running lower than earlier this year, giving importers more cost certainty; resilient consumer demand; and cargo<\/a> allocated to Los Angeles at origin as shippers navigate \u201ccontinued challenges along other global trade routes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn August, Seroka projected Panama Canal congestion and Middle East uncertainty could divert an additional 5 percent<\/a> of volumes to Los Angeles. This month, he upgraded that figure, saying \u201cit\u2019s probably going to be a little bit more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMeetings with shipping lines, third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and manufacturers in South Korea and Singapore confirmed carriers are shifting \u201ceven more of their traditional allocation that would normally go through the canals\u201d to Los Angeles, Seroka said.<\/p>\n \n\tThe port director also noted that vessel fuel prices<\/a> have doubled in eight months amid the war in Iran and the adjacent Middle East conflicts, making shorter transits more of a priority for shippers.<\/p>\n \n\tHelping the growth numbers, both major California ports continue to see more cargo flowing in from other markets.<\/p>\n