The Port of Los Angeles (Port of LA) recorded its best September numbers and all-time best quarter as shippers front-load peak season volumes to avoid various issues threatening to disrupt the global supply chain, from congestion in Asia ports to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea to a brief strike by union longshore workers at East and Gulf Coast ports.

North America's busiest cargo port handled a record 954,706 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in September, a 27% increase over the previous year.

It marked the close of the busiest quarter ever at the Port, which processed 2,854,904 TEUs in the last three months.

Nine months into 2024, the Port of Los Angeles is 18% ahead of its 2023 pace.

Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of LA, observed that holiday retail sales have surged since the pandemic as consumers pursue a sense of normalcy.

"Halloween is a bigger holiday season than ever before; it's a part of the social fabric of consumers," Seroka told reporters in a briefing.

He said that the easing inflation also helped boost consumer spending.

"Census data shows that retail sales have grown for 52 consecutive months. Retail sales are up 3.5% so far from a year ago, and that’s very robust when Gross Domestic Product is 2.5-3%. Wages are growing, housing is still relatively better off, and unemployment is low by historic standards," Seroka said.

 [Source: Port of LA]

The Port of LA chief also acknowledges the dockworkers for moving the record cargo volumes efficiently.

"None of this would be possible without the incredible efforts of our longshore workers, truckers, terminal and rail operators, and other supply chain partners. Their hard work has allowed us to achieve all these records and still be able to handle additional volume," Seroka said.

In September 2024, loaded imports totalled 497,803 TEUs, a 26% increase over the previous year.

Loaded exports totalled 114,702 TEUs, a 5% decrease from 2023. The Port processed 342,201 empty containers, a 45% jump from 2023.

Overall, Port of LA has moved 7,586,395 TEUs in the first nine months of 2024, an 18% increase over the 2023 mark.

In November, Seroka stated that the port plans to increase container traffic by implementing a truck reservation system, taking advantage of what he referred to as the gateway's 50% unused truck capacity.

"This means we can double our throughput," he said.

Port of LA reports record September, all-time best quarter driven by peak-season volumes