December 2024 TEUs

Facts and FiguresPort VolumesMaritime Operations

Feb 20

Written By Natasha Villa

December Inbound Loaded | December Outbound Loaded | December YTD | USWC Shares Mainland Ports | USWC Shares East Asia

2024 YTD Inbound Loaded | 2024 YTD Outbound Loaded

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December 2024 Inbound Loaded

   PortDecember 2024December 2023December 2019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 460,916  364,661  373,511 26.4%23.4%
Long Beach 412,876  333,329  323,231 23.9%27.7%
San Pedro Bay Total 873,792  697,990  696,742 25.2%25.4%
Oakland 59,535  65,801  74,743 -9.5%-20.3%
NWSA 118,356  88,101  105,823 34.3%11.8%
Hueneme 11,010  9,908  5,141 11.1%114.2%
San Diego 7,332  5,788  6,988 26.7%4.9%
USWC Total 1,070,025  867,588  889,437 23.3%20.3%
Boston 10,502  10,383  11,409 1.1%-7.9%
NYNJ 348,536  326,412  288,964 6.8%20.6%
Philadelphia 37,372  30,655  24,045 21.9%55.4%
Maryland 48,036  47,649  41,429 0.8%15.9%
Virginia 129,308  121,630  103,711 6.3%24.7%
South Carolina 97,570  103,556  81,779 -5.8%19.3%
Georgia 223,497  208,382  172,124 7.3%29.8%
Jaxport 33,288  30,184  24,513 10.3%35.8%
Port Everglades 31,361  27,715  27,133 13.2%15.6%
Port Miami 39,416  43,691  39,645 -9.8%-0.6%
USEC Total 998,886  950,257  814,752 5.1%22.6%
New Orleans 9,250  9,459  11,916 -2.2%-22.4%
Houston 149,396  150,948  100,274 -1.0%49.0%
USGC Total 158,646  160,407  112,190 -1.1%41.4%
Vancouver 145,575  144,474  140,560 0.8%3.6%
Prince Rupert 20,561  32,217  61,796 -36.2%-66.7%
British Columbia Total 166,136  176,691  202,356 -6.0%-19.9%
U.S. Ports Total 2,227,557  1,978,252  1,816,379 12.6%22.6%

2024 YTD Inbound Loaded

   Port202420232019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 5,356,680  4,441,330  4,714,266 20.6%13.6%
Long Beach 4,729,552  3,804,356  3,758,438 24.3%25.8%
San Pedro Bay Total 10,086,232  8,245,686  8,472,704 22.3%19.0%
Oakland 964,240  838,231  975,210 15.0%-1.1%
NWSA 1,289,198  1,078,005  1,369,251 19.6%-5.8%
Hueneme 126,511  118,084  59,848 7.1%111.4%
San Diego 75,879  74,984  71,723 1.2%5.8%
USWC Total 12,542,060  10,354,990  10,948,736 21.1%14.6%
Boston 128,711  121,812  149,605 5.7%-14.0%
NYNJ 4,438,854  3,990,270  3,770,971 11.2%17.7%
Philadelphia 421,303  366,710  291,609 14.9%44.5%
Maryland 371,653  558,652  524,225 -33.5%-29.1%
Virginia 1,627,165  1,525,900  1,366,381 6.6%19.1%
South Carolina 1,245,723  1,220,384  1,066,314 2.1%16.8%
Georgia 2,739,628  2,402,328  2,218,654 14.0%23.5%
Jaxport 372,112  326,518  349,896 14.0%6.3%
Port Everglades 364,680  327,575  317,187 11.3%15.0%
Port Miami 506,491  509,707  445,238 -0.6%13.8%
USEC Total 12,216,320  11,349,856  10,500,080 7.6%16.3%
New Orleans 119,427  117,958  135,456 1.2%-11.8%
Houston 1,900,096  1,787,839  1,244,790 6.3%52.6%
USGC Total 2,019,523  1,905,797  1,380,246 6.0%52.6%
Vancouver 1,823,460  1,601,949  1,709,398 13.8%6.7%
Prince Rupert 400,261  369,464  678,699 8.3%-41.0%
British Columbia Total 4,039,046  3,811,594  2,760,492 12.8%6.9%
U.S. Ports Total 26,777,903  23,610,643  22,829,062 13.4%17.3%

December 2024 Outbound Loaded

   PortDecember 2024December 2023December 2019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 110,484  121,575  130,229 -9.1%-15.2%
Long Beach 100,792  103,688  125,395 -2.8%-19.6%
San Pedro Bay Totals 211,276  225,263  255,624 -6.2%-17.3%
Oakland 84,870  76,347  81,281 11.2%4.4%
NWSA 65,396  67,622  75,868 3.3%13.8%
Hueneme 2,354  1,412  1,285 66.7%83.2%
San Diego 566  478  308 18.4%83.8%
USWC Totals 364,462  371,122  414,366 -1.8%-12.0%
Boston 4,613  5,862  5,664 -21.3%-18.6%
NYNJ 112,485  104,278  110,768 7.9%1.6%
Philadelphia 7,566  5,921  5,710 27.8%32.5%
Maryland 18,287  20,006  17,857 -8.6%2.4%
Virginia 97,072  91,758  78,285 5.8%24.0%
South Carolina 48,743  58,544  61,903 -16.7%-21.3%
Georgia 109,931  113,197  111,324 -2.9%-1.3%
Jaxport 43,178  40,703  38,013 6.1%13.6%
Port Everglades 35,314  33,273  31,995 6.1%10.4%
Miami 21,008  21,396  35,034 -1.8%-40.0%
USEC Totals 498,197  494,938  496,553 0.7%0.3%
New Orleans 19,940  20,687  24,304 -3.6%-18.0%
Houston 135,446  120,614  109,721 12.3%23.4%
USGC Totals 155,386  141,301  134,025 10.0%15.9%
Vancouver 71,023  70,649  86,862 0.5%-18.2%
Prince Rupert 8,115  12,123  17,344 -33.1%-53.2%
British Columbia Totals 79,138  82,772  104,206 -4.4%-24.1%
U.S. Ports Total 1,018,045  1,007,361  1,044,944 1.1%-2.6%

2024 YTD Outbound Loaded TEUs

   PortDecember 2024December 2023December 2019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 1,494,201  1,291,997  1,756,177 15.7%-14.9%
Long Beach 1,207,036  1,282,437  1,472,802 -5.9%-18.0%
San Pedro Bay Totals 2,701,237  2,574,434  3,228,979 4.9%-16.3%
Oakland 776,102  736,254  931,019 5.4%-16.6%
NWSA 636,507  588,744  913,332 8.1%-30.3%
Hueneme 23,572  23,069  14,956 2.2%57.6%
San Diego 7,482  9,523  3,725 -21.4%100.9%
USWC Totals 4,144,900  3,932,024  5,092,011 5.4%-18.6%
Boston 57,811  64,184  81,520 -9.9%-29.1%
NYNJ 1,354,421  1,284,976  1,460,447 5.4%-7.3%
Philadelphia 80,849  82,036  77,098 -1.4%4.9%
Maryland 160,002  234,408  232,957 -31.7%-31.3%
Virginia 1,138,959  1,101,620  966,102 3.4%17.9%
South Carolina 655,498  702,973  816,962 -6.8%-19.8%
Georgia 1,376,887  1,336,121  1,470,372 3.1%-6.4%
Jaxport 508,688  520,652  497,149 -2.3%2.3%
Port Everglades 430,940  391,774  427,422 10.0%0.8%
Miami 265,124  277,575  416,466 -4.5%-36.3%
USEC Totals 6,029,179  5,996,319  6,446,495 0.5%-6.5%
New Orleans 242,275  230,906  299,511 4.9%-19.1%
Houston 1,497,749  1,388,648  1,265,669 7.9%18.3%
USGC Totals 1,740,024  1,619,554  1,565,180 7.4%11.2%
Vancouver 794,724  757,747  1,121,973 4.9%-29.2%
Prince Rupert 130,910  125,254  192,068 4.5%-31.8%
British Columbia Totals 925,634  883,001  1,314,041 4.8%-29.6%
U.S. Ports Total 11,914,103  11,547,897  13,103,686 3.2%-9.1%

December 2024 Year-to-Date TEUs

   PortDecember 2024December 2023December 2019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 10,297,352  8,629,681  9,337,632 19.3%10.3%
Long Beach 9,649,724  8,018,668  7,632,332 20.3%26.4%
NYNJ 8,697,767  7,810,005  7,471,131 11.4%16.4%
Georgia 5,545,557  4,927,654  4,599,172 12.5%20.6%
Houston 4,139,991  3,826,157  2,990,179 8.2%38.5%
Virginia 3,523,512  3,287,546  2,937,962 7.2%19.9%
Vancouver 3,474,524  3,126,559  3,398,860 11.1%2.2%
NWSA 3,340,733  2,974,416  3,775,303 12.3%-11.5%
South Carolina 2,497,143  2,482,080  2,436,185 0.6%2.5%
Oakland 2,262,921  2,065,750  2,500,461 9.5%-9.5%
Montreal 1,464,320  1,538,464  1,745,245 -4.8%-16.1%
JaxPort 1,378,594  1,298,010  1,336,263 6.2%3.2%
Port Everglades 1,117,202  1,005,980  1,033,460 11.1%3.4%
Port Miami 1,089,946  1,098,322  1,148,935 -0.8%-5.1%
Philadelphia 840,751  738,730  595,294 13.8%41.2%
Prince Rupert 739,315  704,248  1,210,776 5.0%-38.9%
Maryland 741,315  1,126,511  1,073,688 -34.2%-31.0%
New Orleans 500,100  481,590  646,608 3.8%-22.7%
Boston 251,470  236,975  300,762 6.1%-16.4%
Hueneme 249,181  240,555  122,594 3.6%103.3%
San Diego 149,309  150,646  143,472 -0.9%4.1%
Portland, Oregon 98,899  116,063 26-14.8%∞
U.S. Ports Total 56,371,467  50,515,339  50,081,459 11.6%12.6%

Complete December and CY 2024 TEU Numbers

Exhibits 1-3 display the December TEU numbers for the North American ports we monitor. December saw the number of inbound loaded TEUs at the U.S. ports we track soar 12.6% to 2,227,557 TEUs from a year earlier. Collectively, outbound loads from those same ports edged up 1.1% from a year earlier to 1,018,045 TEUs.

December data also confirmed that U.S. West Coast (USWC) ports have continued to see elevated volumes of inbound container traffic, with the six major USWC ports we track handling 23.3% more inbound loaded TEUs than they had a year earlier. By comparison, U.S. East Coast (USEC) ports recorded a 5.1% year-over-year gain in inbound loads. At the two U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) ports we track, the number of inbound loads slipped by 1.1% from December 2023.

Exhibits 1A and 2A display the full-year TEU tallies at the ports we monitor. Here are the December 2024 container trade numbers as reported by the ports themselves.

The Port of Long Beach recorded 412,876 inbound loaded TEUs in December, a 23.9% jump over the same month in 2023. Outbound loads (100,792), however, were off by 2.8%. For all of 2024, inbound loads at the Southern California gateway totaled 4,729,552 TEUs, a 24.3% year-over-year gain driven in part by troubled longshore labor contract negotiations at East and Gulf Coast ports. Outbound loads in 2024 were down 5.9% from a year earlier. Total container traffic (loads and empties) in 2024 amounted to 9,649,724 TEUs, a 20.3% increase over the prior year and the highest annual volume the port has ever seen.

The neighboring Port of Los Angeles reported 460,916 inbound loaded TEUs in December, bringing the year’s total to 5,356,680 TEUs, a 20.5% boost over 2023’s inbound load total. The 110,484 outbound loaded TEUs that sailed from the port in December brought the year’s total to 1,494,201 TEUs, a 15.7% increase over the previous year. Total container traffic (loads and empties) through the nation’s busiest container port in 2024 amounted to 10,297,352 TEUs, 19.3% higher than the previous year’s total and the second highest in the port’s history after the hyperactive 2021.

In Northern California, the Port of Oakland handled 84,870 inbound loaded TEUs in December, up 11.3% year-over-year and the most the port had processed in any month since August 2022. Outbound loads (59,535 TEUs) were down 9.5% from the previous December. For all of 2024, inbound loads amounted to 964,240 TEUs, up 15.0% from 2023 but 1.1% below the volume achieved in pre-pandemic 2019. Outbound loads in 2024, 776,102 TEUs, were up 5.4% from a year earlier but down 16.6% from 2019. Total container movements in 2024 (2,262,921 TEUs) were down by 8.1% from 2019.

Up in Washington State, 118,356 laden import TEUs were discharged in December at the Northwest Seaport Alliance Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, a 34.3% year-over-year bump. Export loads (65,396 TEUs) edged up by 3.3% over the previous December. Total import loads in 2024 at the two ports amounted to 1,289,198 TEUs, 19.6% higher than in 2023. Export loads in 2024 (636,507 TEUs) were up 8.1% from the preceding year. Total container traffic (loads and empties, international and domestic) at the Puget Sound ports (3,340,733 TEUs) was 12.3% higher than in 2023.

Across the border, British Columbia’s Port of Vancouver took in 145,575 inbound loaded TEUs in December, a modest 0.8% gain over the same month in 2023. Outbound loads (71,023 TEUs) were up just 0.5% from a year earlier. For the entire year, inbound loads (1,822,459 TEUs) were up 13.8% from the previous year. Outbound loads (794,724 TEUs) were up 5.3%. Total container traffic through Canada’s largest port in 2024 (3,474,524 TEUs) was up 11.1% from a year earlier.

Back on the East Coast, December saw the Port of New York/New Jersey handle 348,536 inbound loaded TEUs, a 6.8% boost over the preceding December. Outbound loads (112,485 TEUs) were meanwhile up 7.9%. Year-long volumes amounted to 4,438,854 inbound loaded TEUs (+11.2%), 1,345,421 outbound loaded TEUs (+5,4%), and 8,697,767 total loads and empties (+11.4%). The port was the nation’s third busiest container port overall after the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Maryland’s Port of Baltimore continues its recovery from the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster earlier this year. December saw the port handle 48,036 inbound loaded TEUs, 387 TEUs more than a year earlier. Outbound loads (18,287 TEUs) were down 8.6%. Total container moves through the Patapsco River facility in 2024 (741,215 TEUs) was understandably 34.2% shy of 2023’s total.

In the Mid-Atlantic region, the Port of Virginia handled 129,308 inbound loaded TEUs in December, a 6.3% bump over a year earlier. Outbound loads (94,376 TEUs) were meanwhile up 5.8%. Total inbound loads for all of 2024 (1,627,165 TEUs) were up 6.6% from a year earlier, while outbound loads rose by 3.4%. Total container traffic in 2024 (3,523,512 TEUs) rose 7.2% from the previous year but was off by 4.9% from the port’s record high volume in 2022.

The Port of Charleston processed 97,570 inbound loaded TEUs in December, a 5.8% decline from December 2023. Outbound loads (48,743 TEUs) were similarly down by 16.7% from a year earlier. Total inbound loads for 2024 (1,245,723 TEUs) edged up by 2.1% from 2023, while total outbound loads (655,497 TEUs) were down by 6.8%. Total container traffic through the South Carolina port in 2024 (2,497,143 TEUs) was up just 0.6% from 2023.

The nation’s fourth busiest container port, the Port of Savannah, handled 223,497 inbound loaded TEUs in December, 7.3% more than the port had processed a year earlier. For the entire year, inbound loads at the Georgia gateway totaled 2,739,628 TEUs, a 14.0% increase over 2023. The 109,931 outbound loaded TEUs shipped from the port in December brought the port’s total for the year to 1,376,887 TEUs, up 3.1% from 2023. Counting all loads and empties, the port handled a grand total of 5,545,557 TEUs in 2024, up 12.5% year-over-year.

Along the Gulf Coast, Port Houston reported a 1.0% year-over-year fall-off in inbound loads in December, with the numbers declining to 149,396 TEUs from 150,648 TEUs. However, outbound loads (135,446 TEUs) rose by 12.3% from a year earlier. Total inbound loads at the Texas port in 2024 (1,900,096 TEUs) were up 6.3%, while outbound loads last year (1,497,749 TEUs) rose by 7.9%. Total container traffic in 2024 (4,139,991 TEUs) rose 8.2% from a year earlier.

USWC Ports Shares of Worldwide U.S. Mainland Container Trade

Shares of U.S. Mainland Ports Containerized Import Tonnage

December 2024December 2023December 2019December 2014
USWC38.3%35.0%37.4%41.5%
LA/LB28.6%26.0%26.9%30.2%
Oakland3.5%3.4%4.3%4.4%
NWSA4.3%3.7%4.9%5.4%

Shares of U.S. Mainland Ports Containerized Import Value

December 2024December 2023December 2019December 2014
USWC44.0%40.1%44.8%48.9%
LA/LB35.0%31.1%33.7%36.9%
Oakland3.2%3.2%3.8%4.3%
NWSA4.7%4.4%6.5%6.9%

Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Tonnage

December 2024December 2023December 2019December 2014
USWC32.9%33.7%35.3%40.7%
LA/LB19.8%20.6%20.6%25.9%
Oakland5.4%5.8%6.2%6.4%
NWSA6.8%6.6%7.7%7.0%

Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Value

Container Contents Weights and Values

Exhibits 4 and Exhibit 5 display the U.S. West Coast ports’ shares of containerized trade through the mainland U.S. ports against which USWC ports compete for discretionary cargo. The data presented here are derived from import/export documents shippers file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. For a broader perspective, we compare the most recent month for which data are available with the same month in the preceding year, in pre-pandemic 2019, and a decade earlier. For those who are inclined to add up the numbers, the USWC totals in these two exhibits include international container traffic moving through smaller West Coast ports like San Diego, Hueneme, Portland, and Everett in addition to the container figures from the USWC Big Five ports.

Exhibit 4 shows a dramatic year-over-year boost in the USWC share of all containerized import tonnage flowing into all mainland U.S. ports. To be sure, December’s 38.3% share was down from a peak share of 39.8% in September, but it remained well above the eve of the pandemic in December of 2019. The exhibit also testifies to the consolidation of USWC containerized trade at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The fact that the two Southern California ports handled a bigger value share (35.0%) than a weight share (28.6%) of containerized imports indicates that shippers of higher value goods still opt to prioritize the San Pedro Bay gateway.

Exhibit 5 focuses on the USWC shares of U.S. containerized trade involving trading partners in East Asia. Again, the numbers indicate that the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are capturing a substantially larger share of the nation’s containerized import tonnage from East Asia. However, while that 58.0% share is slightly higher than the shares recorded in the two preceding months, it is lower than the 58.2% mark achieved in September. While the Port of Oakland saw no year-over-year increase in its share of the inbound trade from East Asia, the NWSA Ports of Tacoma and Seattle saw a considerable bump in their combined share of import tonnage from a year earlier.

Major USWC Ports' Shares of U.S. Container Trade with East Asia