Port of New York-New Jersey box gains shake off trade reset

NY volume growth outpaces Los Angeles

(Photo: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey)

The Port of New York and New Jersey was the nation’s second-busiest U.S. port for loaded twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2025. 

The six terminals in the New York harbor complex moved 5,955,798 loaded TEUs over the year, a 2.8% increase from 2024, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The gains outpaced the Port of Los Angeles, where container volume fell by 0.6% for the year. The top U.S. import gateway was hit by weaker imports from China, which fell by 20% in dollar value.

In December, the busiest East Coast seaport moved 435,352 loaded TEUs. This was a 5.6% decrease from December 2024, but down from 5,520,446 TEUs in November of a total 8,245,060 TEUs volume. 

New York’s container hubs are attracting fresh investor interest. Australian owner Macquarie (MQG.AX) is putting the port’s busiest facility, Maher Terminals, up for sale in a process that will likely see a price floor of $3 billion. Liner operator CMA CGM of France recently partnered with investment firm Stonepeak on a $2.4 billion joint venture to buy 10 of its global ocean terminals, including Port Liberty in New York and Fenix Marine Services in Los Angeles.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.