The Port of Long Beach is on track to record its all-time busiest year, breaking its record-setting 9.6 million cargo containers moved in 2024, due to front loading by importers earlier this year in a bid to get ahead of federal tariffs, it was announce Thursday.
On Thursday, port officials touted the facility reached its second-busiest November. Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 817,561 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo, down 7.5% from the record set in November 2024.
“Cargo moved at a steady rate with no congestion or disruptions at the Port of Long Beach as consumers, businesses an supply chain partners endured an extraordinary amount of uncertainty caused by shifting trade policies throughout 2025,” Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero said in a statement.
“We will continue to move trade smoothly through the end of the year, and look forward to a moderate increase in cargo for 2026,” Cordero added.
November imports and exports declined by 7.5% to 400,505 TEUs and 110,112 TEUs, respectively. Empty containers moved through the port were down by 8.2% to 306,934 TEUs.
The port has moved 9,047,477 TEUs through the first 11 months of 2025, up 2.9% from the same period last year, according to port officials.
“We are closing in on a record year thanks to the outstanding work of our waterfront workforce and terminal operators who have moved a tremendous amount of cargo throughout 2025,” Long Beach Harbor Commission President Frank Colonna said in a statement. “We are focused on ensuring consumers are able to purchase gifts at stores and online during this busy holiday season.”