The Port of Los Angeles handled nearly 1 million containers in July, extending a run of historically strong cargo volumes even as an early peak shipping season begins to wind down.
The nation’s busiest container port processed 960,464 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, its second-highest July on record. Volume was down 6% from the all-time July record set last year but remained 7.5% above the port’s five-year average for the month.
The performance followed an exceptionally strong June, when Los Angeles handled more than 1 million TEUs.
“After topping 1 million container units in June, we nearly reached that mark again in July,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said. “Businesses continue to move cargo when they see windows of opportunity amid an evolving trade environment, while resilient consumer demand is helping keep imports at historically strong levels.”
Loaded imports totaled 499,552 TEUs in July, down 8% from last year’s record month but 6% above the five-year July average. Loaded exports also fell 8% year over year to 111,776 TEUs, while empty container movements declined 2% to 349,137 TEUs.
Through the first seven months of 2026, the port has handled 6.08 million TEUs, up 1.8% from the same period last year.
The strong July numbers come as retailers and importers appear to be nearing the end of an unusually early peak shipping season, with companies pulling cargo forward to get ahead of tariff changes and other supply chain uncertainties.
The National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates said earlier this month that imports at major U.S. container ports are expected to remain elevated in August before gradually declining through the remainder of the year.
“We had an early peak season this year as retailers brought in merchandise ahead of tariff changes in late July and responded to other uncertainties in the supply chain like the ongoing disruption brought by the conflict in Iran,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.
Temporary 10% Section 122 global tariffs that took effect in February expired July 23, followed a day later by a new round of Section 301 tariffs of 10% to 12.5% covering 60 economies and affecting the vast majority of U.S. imports.
The uncertainty helped push cargo earlier in the calendar, continuing a trend in which the traditional late-summer and fall peak shipping season has become increasingly spread out as importers respond to tariffs, geopolitical disruptions and other supply chain risks.
Global Port Tracker estimates U.S. ports covered by the report handled 2.21 million TEUs of imports in July, down 7.6% from a year earlier. August is forecast at 2.22 million TEUs, down 4.2% year over year, before volumes begin declining more noticeably in the fall.
Despite the expected slowdown, imports are projected to remain above 2025 levels during most of the remainder of the year. Global Port Tracker forecasts full-year imports of 25.5 million TEUs, essentially flat from 2025.
At Los Angeles, Seroka said the port expects another strong showing in August but acknowledged that some cargo normally associated with the traditional peak season has already arrived.
“We expect another strong month in August, although some cargo that traditionally arrives later in the season has already moved,” Seroka said. “Consumer demand remains the most important variable as we look toward the balance of the year.”
Seroka also said Los Angeles has available capacity and is prepared to handle additional cargo if shifting global trade patterns send more containers through Southern California.
The port’s July performance follows a record-setting June of 1,002,734 TEUs, bringing the two-month total to nearly 2 million TEUs and underscoring the scale of the early-season cargo surge.
Editorial Standards · Corrections · About gCaptain
Facts Only
* The Port of Los Angeles handled 960,464 TEUs in July.
* This was the second-highest July volume on record for the port.
* Volume was 6% down from the all-time July record set last year.
* Volume was 7.5% above the port’s five-year average for July.
* Loaded imports totaled 499,552 TEUs in July.
* Loaded imports were 8% down from last year's record month.
* Loaded exports totaled 111,776 TEUs year over year (8% decrease).
* Empty container movements declined by 2% to 349,137 TEUs.
* Through the first seven months of 2026, the port handled 6.08 million TEUs.
* Global Port Tracker estimates U.S. ports covered handled 2.21 million TEUs of imports in July (down 7.6% from a year earlier).
* August is forecast at 2.22 million TEUs, down 4.2% year over year.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The data reveals a tension between macro-level economic resilience and localized shipping patterns driven by external policy shifts. The fact that cargo volumes remained robust despite the end of an early peak suggests that underlying consumer demand acts as a significant floor, allowing trade to continue even when speculative timing (like pulling cargo forward before tariff changes) is actively employed. This implies that supply chain risk management, driven by geopolitical instability and trade policy uncertainty, has successfully shifted temporal patterns in shipping, moving volume out of traditional peak seasons into earlier months. The expectation that imports will remain elevated despite the anticipated seasonal slowdown suggests that structural pressures outweigh temporary seasonality. Furthermore, the port's acknowledgment that it can handle additional cargo indicates operational flexibility, yet the narrative focuses on external forces—tariffs and consumer demand—as the primary drivers for current performance rather than pure logistical capacity management. The underlying pattern is a decoupling of physical movement from traditional seasonal expectations due to policy volatility.
Bridge Questions: If consumer demand were to sharply decline, how would the Port of Los Angeles's available capacity interact with the remaining trade uncertainty? What are the long-term implications for setting predictable schedules when geopolitical shifts continue to influence shipping windows? What factors could cause future volume to deviate from the forecast of imports remaining above 2025 levels?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like professional reporting that synthesizes port statistics with contextual explanations regarding supply chain shifts and tariff impacts, demonstrating strong human editorial synthesis.