Port of Los Angeles sees busiest month outside pandemic

The Port of Los Angeles handled 960,597 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, a 16% increase over the previous year and the busiest month ever outside the pandemic.

Eight months into 2024, the leading U.S. container gateway is 17% ahead of its 2023 pace, already moving nearly 1 million more containers than a year ago.

“The American consumer continues to spend and that’s helping to power our economy,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said at a media briefing. “Some of the cargo arriving now is replenishing inventories even beyond the year-end holiday season. Combined with a steady flow of manufacturing parts and components, we should continue to see elevated volume in the near term.”

August loaded imports landed at 509,363 TEUs, an 18% increase compared to the previous year. Loaded exports came in at 121,744 TEUs, off 3% compared to 2023. The port processed 329,491 empty containers, a 22% jump compared to 2023.