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10/12/2026
The Port of Los Angeles handled 1,042,652 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo in September, making it the busiest month in the port's 118-year history. It beat the previous monthly record, set in July 2025, by more than 20,000 TEUs.
September also capped off the busiest quarter in the port's history. Nearly 3 million TEUs moved across the port's docks in July, August and September, port officials said in a press release. June through September was the port's strongest four-month stretch, at nearly 4 million TEUs.
Loaded imports reached 545,696 TEUs in September, up 19% year over year, while loaded exports totaled 125,751 TEUs, up 10%. Empty containers totaled about 371,206 TEUs, the highest it's been in port history. For the first nine months of the year, the port handled nearly 8.1 million TEUs, up more than 3% from the same period in 2025.
During the port's monthly media briefing, Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka provided several contributing factors for the high traffic in September, including lower tariffs and challenges along the Suez Canal and Panama Canal routes, which have led to more shipments being routed for the West Coast.