The Port of Los Angeles continued to see volume growth in March, though tariffs are expected to affect performance later in the year.

The port processed 778,406 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in March, 4.7% more than last year.

Month-on-month, however, this is already lower than the 801,398 TEUs handled in February, which marked the port's second-busiest February on record, and the 924,245 TEUs handled in January, which was the port's busiest January on record.

Port of LA ended the first quarter handling 2,504,049 TEUs, 5.2% ahead of last year's strong pace.

[Source: Port of LA] 

"Our volume remained strong throughout the first quarter, and we've now seen year-over-year growth in 18 of the last 20 months," said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

"The start of the second quarter looks encouraging as importers begin to plan for spring and summer fashion, as well as back-to-school."

Seroka cautioned that newly announced U.S. tariffs on key trading partners could soon affect container volumes.

"However, with tariffs and counter tariffs dominating the news, I expect we'll see cargo decline in the second half of the year at least 10% compared to 2024," he said.
 

"That's because many importers have already brought their goods in early, and as prices begin to rise, consumers will think twice about many purchases.

March 2025 loaded imports came in at 385,531 TEUs, 1.6% higher compared to the previous year.

Loaded exports landed at 122,975 TEUs, a 15% drop from 2024.

The Port also processed 269,900 empty containers, 23% more than last year.

The Port of LA is among the busiest ports in North America. In 2024, it handled a total of 10.3 million container units, sustaining its top rank among U.S. ports.