Port of LA reports hectic June

The Port of Los Angeles says it handled more than 892,300 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this June, which it reports is 8 percent more compared with last June.

The agency, a department of the city of Los Angeles, says June 2025 was the busiest June in the 117-year history of the 7,500-acre Port of Los Angeles.

“Some importers are bringing in year-end holiday cargo now ahead of potential higher tariffs later in the year,” says Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka. “July may be our peak season month, as retailers and manufacturers bring orders in earlier than usual, then brace for trade uncertainty.

Seroka adds, “The Port of Los Angeles closed its fiscal year on June 30, ending the period handling 10.5 million TEUs [handled]. That marks our third fiscal year exceeding 10 million TEUs, the only Western Hemisphere port to do so, and this time we reached that mark without a single vessel backed up.”

The inbound flow of containers could count as good news for outbound shippers (including recyclers) seeking boxes later this year, according to Chattanooga, Tennessee-based business information services firm FreightWaves, which attended an accompanying press briefing held by the Port of Los Angeles. Seroka referred to the influx of containers as a circumstance that could preempt potential supply chain disruptions later in the year, “ensuring steadiness in goods movement across critical periods," FreightWaves reports.

A fondness for tariffs by the administration of United States President Donald Trump likely has been playing a role in the rise in Los Angeles port activities.

“Some importers are bringing in year-end holiday cargo now ahead of potential higher tariffs later in the year,” FreightWaves quotes Seroka as saying.

The increased purchasing in June and July could mean importers “are adapting to potential shifts in trade policies by frontloading shipments amid an uncertain tariff environment,” writes Stuart Chirls of FreightWaves.

The Port of Los Angeles indicates its June 2025 included imports that checked in at more than 470,400 TEUs, which it calls a 10 percent improvement. FreightWaves assigned that rise to retailers beginning  to “bring in end-of-year holiday merchandise well in advance.”

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An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

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SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

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SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

According to the port agency, loaded exports weighed in at a more modest 126,00 TEUs, which marked 3 percent growth compared with June 2024. “The port processed more than 295,700 empty container units” this June, representing a total of about 7 percent more compared with last June, according to FreightWaves.

In the first half of 2025, the Port of Los Angeles handled more than 4.95 million TEUs, which FreightWaves calls a 5 percent increase compared with the first half of 2024.