September 2024 TEUs
September 2024 Inbound Loaded
| Port | September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | Change from 2023 | Change from 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 497,803 | 392,608 | 402,320 | 26.8% | 23.7% |
| Long Beach | 416,999 | 408,926 | 354,919 | 2.0% | 17.5% |
| San Pedro Bay Total | 914,802 | 801,534 | 757,239 | 14.1% | 20.8% |
| Oakland | 82,180 | 74,428 | 84,906 | 10.4% | -3.2% |
| NWSA | 135,841 | 134,642 | 131,451 | 0.9% | 3.3% |
| Hueneme | 8,644 | 9,420 | 3,117 | -8.2% | 177.3% |
| San Diego | 7,606 | 5,928 | 6,902 | 28.3% | 10.2% |
| USWC Total | 1,149,073 | 1,025,952 | 983,615 | 12.0% | 16.8% |
| Boston | 11,566 | 9,317 | 11,608 | 24.1% | -0.4% |
| NYNJ | 339,033 | 315,866 | |||
| Philadelphia | 33,623 | 31,749 | 25,943 | 5.9% | 29.6% |
| Maryland | 42,751 | 45,112 | 45,026 | -5.2% | -5.1% |
| Virginia | 145,548 | 130,073 | 114,643 | 11.9% | 27.0% |
| South Carolina | 111,317 | 97,331 | 90,111 | 14.4% | 23.5% |
| Georgia | 234,629 | 199,892 | 183,466 | 17.4% | 27.9% |
| Jaxport | 28,454 | 28,276 | 27,309 | 0.6% | 4.2% |
| Port Everglades | 34,437 | 25,692 | 25,594 | 34.0% | 34.6% |
| USEC Total ex PNYNJ | 642,325 | 906,475 | 839,566 | 13.2% | 22.7% |
| New Orleans | 8,870 | 9,130 | 11,225 | -2.8% | -21.0% |
| Houston | 162,338 | 156,161 | 106,270 | 4.0% | 52.8% |
| USGC | 171,208 | 165,291 | 117,495 | 3.6% | 45.7% |
| Vancouver | 152,225 | 139,343 | 156,289 | 9.2% | -2.6% |
| Prince Rupert | 30,223 | 30,028 | 63,970 | 0.6% | -52.8% |
| British Columbia Total | 182,448 | 169,371 | 220,259 | 7.7% | -17.2% |
| Lazaro Cardenas | 61,226 | 91,827 | 59,677 | -33.3% | 2.6% |
| Manzanillo | 135,301 | 153,039 | 112,628 | -11.6% | 20.1% |
| Mexico Pacific Coast | 196,527 | 244,866 | 172,305 | -19.7% | 14.1% |
September 2024 Outbound Loaded
| Port | September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | Change from 2023 | Change from 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 114,702 | 120,635 | 130,769 | -4.9% | -12.3% |
| Long Beach | 88,289 | 101,248 | 123,215 | -12.8% | -28.3% |
| San Pedro Bay Total | 202,991 | 221,883 | 253,984 | -8.5% | -20.1% |
| Oakland | 61,466 | 59,757 | 72,058 | 2.9% | -14.7% |
| NWSA | 57,275 | 61,867 | 82,148 | -7.4% | -30.3% |
| Hueneme | 1,636 | 1,716 | 779 | -4.7% | 110.0% |
| San Diego | 654 | 500 | 706 | 30.8% | -7.4% |
| USWC Total | 324,022 | 345,723 | 409,675 | -6.3% | -20.9% |
| Boston | 4,849 | 4,916 | 6,892 | -1.4% | -29.6% |
| NYNJ | 100,379 | 116,231 | |||
| Philadelphia | 7,188 | 6,650 | 6,052 | 8.1% | 18.8% |
| Maryland | 13,643 | 17,208 | 20,320 | -20.7% | -32.9% |
| Virginia | 95,478 | 81,515 | 71,561 | 17.1% | 33.4% |
| South Carolina | 53,368 | 56,296 | 61,494 | -5.2% | -13.2% |
| Georgia | 101,728 | 111,530 | 107,972 | -8.8% | -5.8% |
| Jaxport | 38,957 | 45,044 | 37,470 | -13.5% | 4.0% |
| Port Everglades | 36,906 | 32,210 | 35,404 | 14.6% | 4.2% |
| USEC Total ex PNYNJ | 352,117 | 455,748 | 463,396 | -0.9% | 1.4% |
| New Orleans | 19,374 | 18,496 | 25,049 | 4.7% | -22.7% |
| Houston | 114,299 | 124,739 | 102,309 | -8.4% | 11.7% |
| USGC Total | 133,673 | 143,235 | 127,358 | -6.7% | 5.0% |
| Vancouver | 69,566 | 64,192 | 90,304 | 8.4% | -23.0% |
| Prince Rupert | 11,408 | 11,561 | 13,370 | -1.3% | -14.7% |
| British Columbia Total | 80,974 | 75,753 | 103,674 | 6.9% | 21.9% |
| Lazaro Cardenas | 3,562 | 20,885 | 18,970 | -82.9% | -81.2% |
| Manzanillo | 24,717 | 50,951 | 61,167 | -51.5% | -59.6% |
| Mexico Pacific Coast Total | 28,279 | 71,836 | 80,137 | -60.6% | -64.7% |
September 2024 Year-to-Date TEUs
| Port | September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | Change from 2023 | Change from 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 7,586,395 | 6,398,126 | 7,091,777 | 18.6% | 7.0% |
| Long Beach | 6,917,273 | 5,822,666 | 5,678,362 | 18.8% | 21.8% |
| NYNJ | 5,789,116 | 5,620,381 | |||
| Georgia | 4,131,009 | 3,639,216 | 3,446,998 | 13.5% | 19.8% |
| Houston | 3,120,509 | 2,835,750 | 2,232,036 | 10.0% | 39.8% |
| Manzanillo | 2,911,798 | 2,728,653 | 2,318,328 | 6.7% | 25.6% |
| Virginia | 2,707,653 | 2,436,862 | 2,219,103 | 11.1% | 22.0% |
| NWSA | 2,472,421 | 2,205,833 | 2,909,607 | 12.1% | -15.0% |
| Vancouver | 2,380,129 | 2,292,634 | 2,596,151 | 3.8% | -8.3% |
| South Carolina | 1,878,574 | 1,836,268 | 1,846,017 | 2.3% | 1.8% |
| Lazaro Cardenas | 1,764,679 | 1,371,586 | 1,018,811 | 28.7% | 73.2% |
| Oakland | 1,704,977 | 1,544,692 | 1,904,257 | 10.4% | -10.5% |
| Montreal | 1,112,486 | 1,137,637 | 1,305,180 | -2.2% | -14.8% |
| JaxPort | 1,010,394 | 968,320 | 1,001,024 | 10.7% | 0.9% |
| Port Everglades | 831,873 | 751,740 | 771,541 | 10.7% | 7.8% |
| Philadelphia | 639,455 | 554,256 | 459,172 | 15.4% | 39.3% |
| Prince Rupert | 593,666 | 544,074 | 896,459 | 9.1% | -33.8% |
| Maryland | 487,508 | 836,577 | 818,707 | -41.7% | -40.5% |
| New Orleans | 377,880 | 360,344 | 480,493 | 4.9% | -21.4% |
| Boston | 192,208 | 174,472 | 224,487 | 10.2% | -14.4% |
| Hueneme | 181,867 | 184,669 | 90,596 | -1.5% | 100.7% |
| San Diego | 111,055 | 116,410 | 107,576 | -4.6% | 3.2% |
| Portland, Oregon | 71,795 | 92,128 | 26 | -22.1% | ∞ |
September 2024 Container Traffic at Major North American Ports
At Southern California’s Port of Long Beach, inbound loads in September (416,999 TEUs) were up just 2.0% from a year earlier, a remarkably small gain given the growth at the Port of Los Angeles in the same month and the threatened strike at ports along the East and Gulf Coasts that was due to start on September 30. Similarly, total container traffic this September (829,499) was up a mere 70 TEUs from the previous September. Outbound loads (88,289) were down by 12.8% from last September. This is in contrast to the growth of total container traffic through the port in this year’s first nine months (6,917,373), which represented a 21.8% increase in total volume over the same period in 2019.
The adjacent Port of Los Angeles processed 497,803 inbound loads in September, a 26.8% year-over-year jump that was more consistent with the industry narrative that shippers had been pre-emptively shifting cargo away from strike-imperiled East and Gulf Coast ports. During the third quarter, the port handled 1,508,447 inbound loads, the most in any third quarter in the port’s history. Outbound loads (114,702) were down 4.9% from a year earlier and 12.3% below the volume of outbound loads in September 2019. Total container traffic YTD through America’s busiest seaport (7,586,395) was up 7.0% from the same period in 2019.
Moving up the West Coast, the Port of Oakland handled 82,180 inbound loads in the year’s ninth month, a 10.4% bump over the same month last year but still 3.2% shy of pre-pandemic September of 2019. 61,466 outbound loads shipped from the San Francisco Bay Area gateway in September, a year-over-year gain of 2.9%. Still, this September’s outbound volume was down 14.7% from September 2019. Total container traffic through the port (loads and empties) through the first nine months of the year amounted to 1,704,977 TEUs, 10.5% below the volume handled in the same period in 2019.
Further up the coast, at the Northwest Seaport Alliance Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, the 135,841 loaded import TEUs handled by the two ports were just 0.9% more than the ports had handled in September 2023, while export loads (57,275) were down 7.4% year-over-year and also down 30.3% from the 82,148 export loads the NWSA ports handled in September 2019. Total container traffic so far this year (2,472,421) was up 0.9% from a year earlier but down 15.0% from the volume recorded in the same nine-month period in 2019.
Across the border in British Columbia, the Port of Vancouver discharged 152,225 inbound loads in September, a 9.2% year-over-year gain but down 2.6% from the same month in 2019. Outbound loads this September (69,566) were up 8.4% from a year earlier but remained 23.0% shy of the volume achieved in September 2019. Total container moves YTD through Canada’s largest seaport (2,380,129) were off by 8.3% from the same period in 2019.
As is its wont, the Port of New York/New Jersey will not release its September TEU numbers until the week before Thanksgiving. However, the maritime trade analyst John McCown has estimated that PANYNJ handled 356,414 inbound loads in September. That, he calculates, would represent a comparably modest 5.5% year-over-year gain. (All other major East Coast ports reported a combined 13.2% increase in inbound loads from September 2023.)
In the Mid-Atlantic region, the Port of Virginia handled 145,548 inbound loads in September, an 11.9% bump over a year earlier perhaps in anticipation of a coastwide strike at the end of September. As it was, this September’s inbound loads were also up 27.0% from September 2019. Outbound loads (95,478) in September were up 17.1% year-over-year and up 33.4% from September 2019. Total container trade through the port YTD (2,707,653) was up 22.0% from the same period in 2019.
The Port of Charleston reported 111,317 inbound loads in September, a 14.4% year-over-year jump and a 23.5% expansion in trade over September 2019. Outbound loads (53,368) were down 5.2% from a year earlier and 13.2% below September 2019. Total container traffic YTD through the South Carolina gateway (1,878,574) was up a slender 1.8% from the same period in 2019.
We interject here the obvious but tentative point that, in a month that was predicted to challenge the competitiveness of East and Gulf Coast ports, the eight Atlantic Coast ports other than PANYNJ that we monitor posted a combined 13.2% year-over-year increase in inbound loads, while the five major USWC ports we track saw a 12.0% increase in inbound loads. Of course, we do not yet have September numbers from PANYNJ or full October statistics, but these numbers offered no clear trend suggesting any permanence to whatever market share pendulum had been swinging in favor of USWC ports earlier this year.
Meanwhile, on the Gulf Coast, September found Port Houston discharging 162,338 inbound loads, a relatively modest 4.0% year-over-year increase but a 52.8% gain over September 2109. Outbound loads at the Texas gateway (114,299) were down 8.4% from a year earlier but up 11.7% over the same month in 2019. Total container traffic through the first three quarters of the year (3,120,509) represented a 39.8% jump over the same period five years ago.
USWC Ports Shares of Worldwide U.S. Mainland Container Trade
Shares of U.S. Mainland Ports Containerized Import Tonnage
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 39.8% | 36.8% | 38.5% | 43.1% |
| LA/LB | 30.4% | 26.7% | 28.0% | 32.0% |
| Oakland | 3.2% | 3.2% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| NWSA | 4.7% | 4.8% | 5.3% | 5.9% |
Shares of U.S. Mainland Ports Containerized Import Value
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 45.6% | 43.5% | 47.0% | 51.5% |
| LA/LB | 36.3% | 33.4% | 35.5% | 40.0% |
| Oakland | 6.6% | 3.0% | 3.9% | 3.7% |
| NWSA | 5.4% | 6.0% | 7.0% | 7.1% |
Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Tonnage
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 31.4% | 32.2% | 36.0% | 39.8% |
| LA/LB | 18.6% | 19.2% | 20.1% | 22.2% |
| Oakland | 5.7% | 5.2% | 6.2% | 6.4% |
| NWSA | 6.4% | 6.9% | 8.3% | 9.5% |
Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Value
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 26.4% | 27.3% | 32.4% | 35.1% |
| LA/LB | 16.9% | 16.9% | 21.1% | 23.1% |
| Oakland | 5.6% | 5.1% | 6.1% | 6.2% |
| NWSA | 3.5% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 5.1% |
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 58.2% | 54.4% | 56.6% | 64.9% |
| LA/LB | 47.0% | 42.4% | 43.8% | 50.5% |
| Oakland | 3.5% | 3.7% | 4.6% | 4.4% |
| NWSA | 7.0% | 7.4% | 7.7% | 9.1% |
Shares of U.S. Mainland Ports Containerized Import Value
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 66.1% | 62.2% | 65.4% | 70.9% |
| LA/LB | 54.0% | 48.6% | 50.6% | 56.0% |
| Oakland | 3.5% | 3.6% | 4.3% | 4.1% |
| NWSA | 7.7% | 8.6% | 9.9% | 9.9% |
Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Tonnage
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 53.8% | 53.3% | 58.5% | 63.4% |
| LA/LB | 32.9% | 32.2% | 34.7% | 38.0% |
| Oakland | 8.2% | 7.9% | 9.5% | 9.2% |
| NWSA | 11.7% | 12.0% | 14.2% | 15.2% |
Shares of U.S. Mainland Containerized Export Value
| September 2024 | September 2023 | September 2019 | September 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USWC | 54.4% | 55.6% | 63.3% | 68.0% |
| LA/LB | 35.7% | 33.9% | 42.9% | 46.9% |
| Oakland | 9.9% | 9.6% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| NWSA | 8.5% | 11.3% | 9.3% | 10.1% |
Container Contents Weights and Values
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 September 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 shows a dramatic year-over-year boost in the USWC share of all containerized import tonnage flowing into all mainland U.S. ports. September’s 39.8% share was the 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. Finally, the fact that the two Southern California ports handled a bigger value share (36.3%) than a weight share (30.4%) of containerized imports indicates that shippers of higher value goods are opting to prioritize shipments through 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 significantly larger share of the nation’s containerized import tonnage from East Asia. Both the Port of Oakland and the NWSA Ports of Tacoma and Seattle saw their import tonnage shares remain essentially unchanged from a year earlier.