October 2024 TEUs

Facts and FiguresPort VolumesMaritime Operations

Dec 19

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

October 2024 Inbound Loaded

   PortOctober 2024October 2023October 2019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 462,740  372,455  392,769 24.2%17.8%
Long Beach 487,563  363,300  337,062 34.2%44.7%
San Pedro Bay Total 950,303  735,755  729,831 29.2%30.2%
Oakland 81,498  73,281  78,583 11.2%3.7%
NWSA 107,395  100,502  109,469 6.9%-1.9%
Hueneme 11,740  7,394  5,132 58.8%128.8%
San Diego 6,060  5,454  5,284 11.1%14.7%
USWC Total 1,156,996  922,386  928,299 25.4%24.6%
Boston 7,389  10,520  15,091 -29.8%-51.0%
PNYNJ 380,193  381,738  339,443 -0.4%12.0%
Philadelphia 29,631  33,119  23,494 -10.5%26.1%
Maryland 37,221  54,415  44,150 -31.6%-15.7%
Virginia 125,941  146,199  124,142 -13.9%1.4%
South Carolina 103,558  121,155  95,302 -14.5%8.7%
Georgia 240,768  220,298  199,483 9.3%20.7%
Jaxport 31,517  29,431  30,893 7.1%2.0%
Port Everglades 30,329  28,600  23,304 6.0%30.1%
USEC Total 986,547  1,025,475  895,302 -3.8%10.2%
New Orleans 8,298  10,442  11,250 -20.5%-26.2%
Houston 152,879  174,929  110,585 -12.6%38.2%
USGC 161,177  185,371  121,835 -13.1%32.3%
Vancouver 150,373  139,127  136,138 8.1%10.5%
Prince Rupert 28,872  24,168  57,644 19.5%-49.9%
British Columbia Total 179,245  163,295  193,782 9.8%-7.5%
Lazaro Cardenas 80,681  61,663  58,509 30.8%37.9%
Manzanillo 142,866  128,494  112,064 11.2%27.5%
Mexico Pacific Coast 223,547  190,157  170,573 17.6%31.1%
U.S. Ports Total 2,304,720  2,133,232  1,945,436 8.0%18.5%

October 2024 Outbound Loaded

   PortOctober 2024October 2023October 2019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 122,716  121,277  140,332 1.2%-12.6%
Long Beach 112,845  90,073  131,635 25.3%-14.3%
San Pedro Bay Totals 235,561  211,350  271,967 11.5%-13.4%
Oakland 66,649  68,974  87,393 -3.4%-23.7%
NWSA 47,547  54,886  79,321 -13.4%-40.1%
Hueneme 2,464  1,886  1,294 30.6%90.4%
San Diego 514  3,028  202 -83.0%154.5%
USWC Totals 352,735  340,124  440,177 3.7%-19.9%
Boston 4,250  5,050  7,999 -15.8%-46.9%
PNYNJ 87,407  111,024  127,256 -21.3%-31.3%
Philadelphia 6,187  7,427  6,941 -16.7%-10.9%
Maryland 12,053  20,349  20,134 -40.8%-40.1%
Virginia 66,115  92,589  83,577 -28.6%-20.9%
South Carolina 45,488  60,519  69,952 -24.8%-35.0%
Georgia 99,361  111,774  127,971 -11.1%-22.4%
Jaxport 42,713  44,494  44,848 -4.0%-4.8%
Port Everglades 37,098  34,286  38,158 8.2%-2.8%
USEC Totals 400,672  487,512  526,836 -17.8%-23.9%
New Orleans 14,874  20,323  26,358 -26.8%-43.6%
Houston 99,013  126,011  109,363 -21.4%-9.5%
USGC Totals 113,887  146,334  135,721 -22.2%-16.1%
Vancouver 63,488  66,389  87,362 -4.4%-27.3%
Prince Rupert 10,269  9,726  13,917 5.6%-26.2%
British Columbia Totals 73,757  76,115  101,279 -3.1%-27.2%
Lazaro Cardenas 6,051  5,514  20,282 9.7%-70.2%
Manzanillo 29,205  27,158  65,885 7.5%-55.7%
Mexico Pacific Coast 35,256  32,672  86,167 7.9%-59.1%
U.S. Ports Total 867,294  973,970  1,102,734 -11.0%-21.4%

October 2024 Year-to-Date TEUs

   PortOctober 2024October 2023October 2019 Change from 2023 Change from 2019
Los Angeles 8,491,420  7,123,900  7,861,966 19.2%8.0%
Long Beach 7,904,564  6,577,815  6,366,787 20.2%24.2%
PNYNJ 7,290,743  6,531,526  6,286,762 11.6%16.0%
Georgia 4,625,269  4,088,223  3,875,380 13.1%19.4%
Houston 3,430,132  3,201,958  2,490,607 7.1%37.7%
Manzanillo 3,252,635  3,050,927  2,587,723 6.6%25.7%
Virginia 2,960,111  2,743,436  2,486,079 7.9%19.1%
Vancouver 2,968,228  2,569,021  2,869,050 15.5%3.5%
NWSA 2,745,775  2,480,459  3,219,673 10.7%-14.7%
South Carolina 2,087,682  2,071,274  2,063,377 0.8%1.2%
Lazaro Cardenas 1,987,978  1,556,424  1,132,040 27.7%75.6%
Oakland 1,898,554  1,723,360  2,109,137 10.2%-10.0%
Montreal 1,234,090  1,273,517  1,462,597 -3.1%-15.6%
JaxPort 1,125,038  1,081,837  1,124,779 4.0%0.02%
Maryland 559,715  941,397  909,243 -40.5%-38.4%
Port Everglades 922,073  837,388  856,101 10.1%7.7%
Philadelphia 702,769  622,458  509,005 12.9%38.1%
Prince Rupert 649,107  591,497  998,133 9.7%-35.0%
New Orleans 415,275  403,398  536,793 2.9%-22.6%
Hueneme 205,141  200,369  100,622 2.4%103.9%
Boston 208,932  193,507  255,073 8.0%-18.1%
San Diego 123,287  127,772  118,234 -3.5%4.3%
Portland, Oregon 81,244  101,344  26 -19.8%∞
U.S. Ports Total 45,777,724  41,051,421  41,169,644 11.5%11.2%

October 2024 Container Traffic at Major North American Ports

October saw an 8.0% year-over-year rise in inbound loaded TEUs at the 18 U.S. ports monitored by PMSA. Outbound loads from those same ports were down 11.0% from a year earlier.

October data also confirmed the sharp year-over-year shift of container traffic to U.S. West Coast (USWC) ports and a parallel decline at East and Gulf Coast ports. Inbound loads at the six California and Washington State ports PMSA monitors were up 25.2% from October 2023, while outbound loads were up 3.6%. Along the U.S. East Coast (USEC), inbound loads were down 3.8% from a year earlier, while outbound loads declined by 17.8%. At the two U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) ports we track, inbound loads fell 13.9%, while outbound loads dropped by 22.2%.

The Port of Long Beach recorded its busiest month ever for container traffic. Inbound loads (487,563) were up 34.2% from a year earlier and up 44.7% from the inbound loads handled in the pre-pandemic month of October 2019. Remarkably, Long Beach handled more inbound loads in October than did its cross-harbor neighbor, the Port of Los Angeles. Outbound loads (112,845), while up 25.3% from the year before, remained 14.3% shy of October 2019’s volume. Total container moves YTD through the San Pedro Bay port (7,904,564) were up 20.2% from last year and 24.2% ahead of the TEUs handled through the first ten months of 2019.

Over at the nearby Port of Los Angeles, inbound loads amounted to 462,740 TEUs, up 24.2% from the previous October and 17.8% over October 2019. Outbound loads (122,716) were 1.2% higher than a year earlier but 12.6% below the mark set in October 2019. Total YTD container movements through the Southern California gateway (8,941,420 TEUs) were 8.0% ahead of the volume recorded in the first ten months of 2019.

Up the coast at the Port of Oakland, inbound loads (81,498) in the tenth month were up 11.2% year-over-year as well as 3.7% ahead of October 2019. Outbound loads (66,649) slipped 3.4% from a year earlier and were down 23.7% from October 2019. Total container traffic at the San Francisco Bay Area port YTD (1,898,554) was up 10.2% from a year earlier but down 10.0% from the first ten months of 2019.

Oregon’s struggling Port of Portland handled 81,244 total TEUs through the first ten months of the year, down 19.8% from 101,344 at this point last year. The regional exporters upon whom the port is banking to sustain container traffic through the Columbia River terminal have thusfar generated 41,872 outbound loads. That represents a 29.8% fall-off from the first ten months of 2023 and a 39.1% decline from the same period in 2022.

Washington State’s Northwest Seaport Alliance Ports of Tacoma and Seattle handled 107,395 inbound loads in October, a 6.9% gain from a year earlier but a 1.9% decline from October 2019. Outbound loads (47,547) were down 13.4% year-over-year and off by 40.1% from October 2019. Total containerized trade through the two ports YTD (2,745,775 TEUs) was up 10.7% from a year earlier but down 14.7% from the same period in 2019.

Further north in British Columbia, Canada’s third busiest seaport, the Port of Prince Rupert posted higher year-over-year numbers but continued to operate well below its pre-pandemic volumes. Inbound loads (28,872), while up 19.5% over last year, were half of the 57,644 inbound loads the port had handled in October 2019. Similarly, outbound loads this October (10,269) were up 5.6% year-over-year but still down 26.2% from October 2019. Total container traffic YTD (649,107 TEUs) was down 35.0% from 2019.

Back on the Atlantic Seaboard, the Port of New York/New Jersey (PNYNJ) handled 1,545 fewer inbound loaded TEUs this October than it had a year earlier, a fall-off of 0.4%. October’s inbound volume was, however, still 12.0% ahead of October 2019. Outbound loads from the East Coast gateway (87,407) plunged by 21.3% from the previous October, while coming up 31.3% or 39,849 TEUs shy of the outbound trade in October 2019. Total container traffic YTD (7,290,743 TEUs) was the third largest in the nation and 16.0% higher than PNYNJ had achieved in the first ten months of 2019.

Elsewhere along the East Coast, the Port of Virginia handled 125,941 inbound loads in October, a 13.9% year-over-year drop and only a 1.4% gain over October 2019. Outbound loads (66,115) fell 28.6% from a year earlier and by 20.9% from October 2019. Total container traffic YTD (2,960,111) was up 19.1% from the same period in 2019.

At the Port of Charleston, the 103,558 inbound loads discharged this October were down 14.5% from a year earlier but up 8.7% from October 2019. Outbound loads (45,488) were likewise down both from a year earlier (-24.8%) and from October 2019 (-35.0%). Total YTD container traffic through the South Carolina port (2,087,682) was just 1.2% higher than in 2019.

Georgia’s Port of Savannah reported 240,768 inbound loads in October, a 9.3% bump over a year earlier and a 20.7% increase since October 2019. Outbound loads (99,361) were down 11.1% year-over-year and down 22.4% from the same month five years ago. Total container traffic YTD (4,625,269 TEUs) represented a 19.4% gain over the same period in 2019.

Over on the Gulf Coast, inbound loads at Port Houston in October were down 12.6% from a year ago to 152,879 TEUs. However, this October’s inbound loads were up 38.2% over October 2019. Outbound loads (99,013) were down 21.4% from a year earlier and down 9.5% from October 2019. YTD total container traffic at the Texas marine gateway (3,430,132) represented a 37.7% gain over the first ten months of 2019.

South of the border, the Port of Manzanillo reported 142,866 inbound TEUs in October, up 11.2% from a year ago and 27.5% higher than in October 2019. Outbound loads (29,205) were up 7.5% year-over-year but down 55.7% from the same month in 2019. Total box trade YTD through the Colima State gateway on Mexico’s Pacific Coast (3,252,635) was up 25.7% over the same period in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Port of Lázaro Cárdenas handled 80,681 inbound loads in November, a 30.8% bump from a year earlier and a 37.9% gain over November 2019. Outbound loads from the Michoacán facility in the eleventh month (6,051) were up 9.7% from a year ago but down 70.2% from November 2019. Total container traffic at the port YTD (1,987,978 TEUs) was down 10.0% from the same period in 2019.

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

Shares of U.S. Mainland Ports Containerized Import Tonnage

October 2024October 2023October 2019October 2014
USWC39.0%33.7%36.7%42.2%
LA/LB29.8%24.7%26.8%30.4%
Oakland3.1%3.0%3.7%3.8%
NWSA4.4%4.2%5.0%5.9%

Shares of U.S. Mainland Ports Containerized Import Value

October 2024October 2023October 2019October 2014
USWC46.4%39.1%45.0%51.1%
LA/LB37.2%30.6%34.4%39.6%
Oakland3.1%2.7%3.5%3.6%
NWSA5.1%5.1%6.5%7.1%

Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Tonnage

October 2024October 2023October 2019October 2014
USWC38.4%32.3%37.3%41.6%
LA/LB23.9%19.2%21.2%23.1%
Oakland6.4%6.0%6.5%6.9%
NWSA7.2%6.9%8.2%10.6%

Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Value

Exhibit 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 October 2024 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, and Everett in addition to the container figures from the USWC Big Five ports.

Exhibit 4 (above) 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, October’s 39.0% share was down from 39.8% the previous month, but it remained the second highest USWC share of the nation’s containerized import trade since the hectic summer of 2020. 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 (37.2%) than a weight share (29.8%) of containerized imports indicates that shippers of higher value goods still opt to prioritize the San Pedro Bay gateway.

Exhibit 5 (below) 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 significantly larger share of the nation’s containerized import tonnage from East Asia. And both the Port of Oakland and the NWSA Ports of Tacoma and Seattle saw their import tonnage shares edge up from a year earlier as well.

The jump in the San Pedro Bay ports’ share of containerized imports from Asia is certainly a response to the threat of a strike or lockout that would shut down America’s East and Gulf Coast ports. The International Longshoremen’s Association did walk out for three days in early October, but negotiations resumed, and further action was put off until at least mid-January.

While President-Elect Donald Trump has signaled his support for the ILA’s position on port automation, whether shippers will interpret the President-Elect’s action as effectively foreclosing the likelihood of a January shutdown of East and Gulf Coast ports remains to be seen.

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