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Port of Los Angeles monthly throughput hits 118-year high, Chinese exporters may face a new round of route adjustments
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Port of Los Angeles monthly throughput hits a 118-year high, Chinese exporters may face a new round of route adjustments
In September 2026, the Port of Los Angeles container throughput reached 1,042,652 TEU, setting the highest single-month record in the port's 118-year history and also breaking the single-month container volume record for a port in the Western Hemisphere.
This data is not merely the result of traditional peak-season restocking, but more importantly reflects that the global shipping network is redistributing cargo flows due to canal transit restrictions, geopolitical conflicts, and changes in fuel costs.
For Chinese export enterprises, route selection is entering a new stage: the shortest route is not necessarily the cheapest, and the cheapest route is not necessarily the most stable.
01 Port of Los Angeles "exploded": 1.04 million TEU in a single month, a 118-year high
In September 2026, the Port of Los Angeles' core data surged across the board:
- Container throughput: 1,042,652 TEU, the highest single month in the port's 118-year history, and also a record for single-month container volume at a Western Hemisphere port;
- Loaded imports: 545,696 TEU, up 19% year on year;
- Loaded exports: 125,751 TEU, up 10% year on year;
- Empty containers: 371,206 TEU, also a record high;
- July to September: nearly 3 million TEU handled cumulatively, making it the busiest quarter in history;
- First three quarters: cumulative throughput of nearly 8.1 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of more than 3%.
This round of "volume explosion" at the Port of Los Angeles is not driven by a single demand factor, but rather a rebalancing of cargo flows after rising uncertainty in global shipping routes.
02 Why is cargo flow accelerating toward the U.S. West Coast?
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said that due to continued challenges in the Suez Canal and Panama Canal, about 5% of additional cargo volume was reallocated to the Port of Los Angeles at the origin stage.
Regarding the Panama Canal:
- Affected by insufficient rainfall, the daily transit slots for neopanamax locks once dropped to 9 in September, and total transits fell to 32 vessels/day;
- Subsequently, as rainfall improved, the authority announced that starting October 15, daily transit slots for neopanamax locks would be restored to 10, with total slots increasing to 33, and draft restrictions also slightly relaxed.
But transit pressure has not completely disappeared.
MarineTraffic data shows that from January to the end of September 2026, a total of 69 container ships waited more than 100 hours to transit the Panama Canal, accounting for 3.3% of ships transiting during the same period, far higher than 13 ships and 0.6% in the same period of 2025.
For shipping companies and cargo owners, the biggest problem is no longer "whether they can pass," but "uncertainty about when they can pass." Once vessel schedules cannot be stabilized, subsequent trucking, rail, warehousing, and sales nodes will all be affected.
At the same time, security risks in the Red Sea have still not been fully eliminated, and some Asia-Europe routes continue to detour around the Cape of Good Hope, extending voyage length and increasing fuel consumption.
After the Middle East situation pushed up fuel costs, some cargo owners recalculated full-chain costs:
- Although the Panama Canal route is shorter in distance, after waiting, auction premiums, reduced loading, and uncertainty are added together, the overall cost is not necessarily lower;
- In contrast, although the Asia-US West Coast route still requires further rail or truck transfer to inland destinations, its timeliness and predictability are regaining attention.
03 The pressure is not over; it is shifting from the sea side to the land side
Seroka expects that the Port of Los Angeles throughput in October may still reach about 900,000 TEU.
Supporting factors include:
- US retailers continue to replenish inventory for holiday sales;
- The window of easing China-US trade tensions brings some certainty for restocking;
- The earlier Spring Festival in 2027 may also prompt companies to arrange shipments in advance.
However, the pressure is shifting from the sea side to the land side.
Recently, the average waiting time for ships at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has not been long, but there is a clear bottleneck in the rail transfer segment.
As of mid-October, the two ports combined had nearly 8,000 rail containers waiting at the terminals for more than 9 days, with the backlog concentrated in the BNSF direction.
This has a greater impact on the following cargo:
- Moving via IPI inland point intermodal;
- Final destination in the Midwest or South;
- Needs to be warehoused on time for FBA or retail warehouses.
Freight forwarders and importers need to pay special attention to rail container pickup, storage fees, demurrage and detention fees, and final delivery time, rather than only looking at vessel ETA.
04 Five practical recommendations for freight forwarders and cross-border logistics
1. Prioritize confirming route selection
For cargo to the US East Coast, US Gulf, and inland points, compare the total cost and transit time of "US West Coast + rail/truck" versus "all-water via the Panama Canal"; do not look only at ocean freight quotes.
2. Track the latest Panama Canal restrictions
Although the daily slots for neopanamax locks increased from 9 to 10 starting October 15, water resource constraints remain, and reservation, draft, and auction mechanisms may still be adjusted.
3. Reserve landside buffers
For cargo transshipped via Los Angeles and Long Beach, it is recommended to add rail and inland transportation buffers on top of the original plan, especially during peak season.
4. Verify carrier port diversion and omission notices
Shipping lines may adjust port call sequences due to canal restrictions, port congestion, or fuel costs, so voyage execution must be tracked on a per-bill-of-lading basis.
5. Watch the tariff and trade policy window
The current restocking pace of importers is still affected by tariff expectations, and changes in trade policy may continue to trigger pulse-like fluctuations in cargo volume.
05 What does this mean for Chinese exporters?
This round of cargo flow restructuring is not just an opportunity for U.S. West Coast ports, but also a new test for Chinese exporters.
Companies need to put the following factors into the same decision-making framework:
- Canal transit restrictions;
- Geopolitical risks;
- Fuel costs;
- U.S. West Coast rail and truck evacuation capacity;
- Storage fees, demurrage and detention fees, final delivery time;
- Tariff and trade policy window.
In other words:
You cannot focus only on ocean freight rates, nor only on vessel ETA.
The "predictability" of the U.S. West Coast route is becoming a competitive advantage, but sufficient landside buffer must be reserved; the all-water route may appear cheaper, but waiting and uncertainty will eat into profits.
06 Conclusion
Overall, the record at the Port of Los Angeles is not simply due to strong demand, but rather a rebalancing of cargo flows after rising uncertainty in global shipping corridors.
For shipping, freight forwarding, and cross-border logistics, route selection is entering a new stage: the shortest route is not necessarily the cheapest, and the cheapest route is not necessarily the most stable.
Enterprises need to incorporate canal transit, geopolitical risks, fuel costs, and inland distribution capacity into the same decision-making framework, rather than using ocean freight rates alone as the basis for booking space.
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