Resilience Amid Tariff Volatility: Los Angeles Port Records Highest Ever Third-Quarter Container Throughput

Release time:

2025-10-17

▲ Port of Los Angeles, USA (Source: Visual China)

Despite a decline in September's monthly data, the busiest port in the U.S., the Port of Los Angeles, delivered a record-breaking performance in the third quarter of this year—handling a total of 2.9 million TEUs, setting a new quarterly throughput record in the port's history.

According to a report by Global Market Watch, the Port of Los Angeles handled 883,053 TEUs in September, a 7.5% decrease compared to the same period last year. Among them, the volume of fully loaded import containers was 460,044 TEUs, down 7.6% year-on-year; export volumes remained roughly stable, while the volume of empty containers declined by 10%, reflecting to some extent a slowdown in future import momentum.

However, resilience has become particularly evident amid these fluctuations. The strong performance throughout the third quarter propelled the port’s cumulative throughput from January to September to 7.8 million TEUs, representing a 3% year-on-year increase. Jean Seroka, the port’s executive director, pointed out that fluctuations in throughput are closely linked to changes in trade policies. “When the policy was first announced, importers temporarily suspended their purchases from China; but as the policy eased, cargo volumes began to rebound once again,” he said in a briefing. “The supply chain has been on a roller coaster all year, and these fluctuations continue unabated.”

It is worth noting that recently, China and the U.S. have imposed additional fees on ships calling at their respective ports. Chinese-built vessels or Chinese-owned ships now face a fee of roughly $80 per net ton when docking at U.S. ports, while U.S.-owned ships are also subject to a fee of $56 per net ton when calling at Chinese ports. Cerroca warned that about 20% of the vessels calling at the Port of Los Angeles are made in China, and some of the handling equipment and cranes used there also originate from China. If tariffs continue to rise, this will drive up overall logistics costs, “ultimately making goods more expensive.”

Against a backdrop of an uncertain trade environment, the Port of Los Angeles has once again demonstrated its operational resilience by posting a new quarterly high, while also reflecting the challenging journey that global supply chains are navigating amid policy uncertainties.

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