Posted on May 21, 2025
The Port of Los Angeles handled 842,806 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in April 2025, marking a 9.4% increase compared to the previous year and securing its position as the third-best April on record behind 2021 and 2022.
The port’s year-to-date performance shows total container volume of 3,346,853 TEUs, up 6.2% compared to the same period in 2024.
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka reported that loaded imports reached 439,230 TEUs, showing a 5% year-over-year increase. However, loaded exports continued their downward trend, dropping 3% to 128,394 TEUs, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline.
“We’ve had nearly two years of robust volume, including 10 straight months of year-over-year growth,” said Seroka. “A strong economy and high consumer confidence propelled that growth early on, while more recently it’s been the push by importers to bring cargo in ahead of today’s tariffs.”
Despite current strong performance, Seroka anticipates a softening in global trade due to elevated tariffs and uncertainty. The port plans to leverage this expected slowdown by investing $230 million in capital projects during the upcoming fiscal year.
The impact of trade policy shifts is particularly evident in export figures, with Seroka noting, “With retaliatory tariffs now in play, we’ll continue to see significant challenges in that side of the ledger, particularly for the ag and manufacturing sector for the foreseeable future.”
Empty container movements saw a significant increase of 25% compared to last year, reaching 275,183 units, as shipping lines taking advantage of extra capacity to reposition equipment back to Asia.
