Overview
- The port handled about 812,000 TEUs in January, which Executive Director Gene Seroka said was the lowest monthly output in nearly three years.
- Loaded imports totaled 421,594 TEUs, down 13% year over year, with loaded exports at 104,297 TEUs, down 8%, and empty containers at 286,110 TEUs, down 12%.
- Port officials reported a steep drop in China-bound goods, with containerized exports to China down 26% last year and soybean shipments from Los Angeles to China down about 80%, with no late‑2025 rebound.
- Industry data show ocean freight rates sliding, including an 18% drop in the mid‑low market segment over the past month, while carriers are blanking sailings with capacity cuts of roughly 60%, 58% and 50% on key transpacific lanes.
- Some China-origin losses are being partially offset by increased sourcing from Southeast Asia, with U.S. imports from Vietnam up 17.8% year over year in January and larger gains from Thailand and Indonesia, as the port’s China import share has fallen from about 60% in 2018 to around 40%.