Despite conflict in the Middle East and uncertainty related to federal tariff policies, the Port of Los Angeles processed 824,323 twenty-foot equivalent units in February, an increase of 3% compared to the same month last year, officials announced Thursday.
It was the second-best February in the port’s history. Cargo volume remained steady, though global developments are of concern across supply chains, the port’s Executive Director Gene Seroka said during an online briefing Thursday.
February 2026 loaded imports stood at 433,812 TEUs, a 5% increase compared to February 2025. Loaded exports stood at 116,633 TEUs, an increase of 7%, and the port processed 273,878 empty containers, a decrease of 2% compared to February 2025.
The port has processed roughly 1.63 million TEUs so far in the first two months of 2026, a 5% decrease compared to the same period in 2025.
Seroka noted that the port experienced an increase in cargo volume because retailers and manufacturers brought in cargo ahead of the Lunar New Year when many factories paused production in Asia.
“As we head into our traditional slack season, it will be followed by some replenishment of inventories, particularly spring and summer fashion goods,” he added.
“With so many developments affecting supply chains — from the conflict unfolding in the Middle East to the Supreme Court tariff ruling and broader trade policy shifts — there’s real uncertainty across the industry right now,” Seroka said. “Even so, manufacturing flows serving the United States continue to move, and we’re not seeing disruption to U.S.-bound cargo today.”
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs, finding that such power exceeded his authority under the law. In a 6-3 decision, the court found it was unconstitutional for the president to set and change tariffs because that power solely belongs to Congress.
The court did not rule out allowing importers to claim refunds on any IEEPA tariffs they may have paid.
Trump had used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners, citing what his administration has described as unfair trade terms with other nations. The tariffs were a large part of Trump’s economic agenda, which aims to boost manufacturing, raise revenue and pay down the national debt.
Trump angrily denounced the Supreme Court’s ruling, which he called “deeply disappointing.”
More recently, the United States has entered into a war in the Middle East after a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran that killed that nation’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
In response to the U.S.-Israeli attacks, Iran closed the Strait of Homuz — a key trade route in which 20% of the world’s oil moves through — with no indication it would open soon.
Oil prices have surged since the war began, causing a related spike in gasoline prices. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County has increased 83 cents in the last month.
Ron Widdows, a former CEO of Neptune Orient Lines and the current CEO of FlexiVan Leasing — a leading U.S. intermodal chassis provider — joined Seroka for the online briefing, and discussed the conflict in the Middle East and federal tariffs.
“We’ve never seen an impact like this,” Widdows said.
The Jebel Ali Port in Dubai was temporarily closed due to missile and drone attacks in the region.
“Imagine Dubai, Jebel Ali, the UAE handles 20 million TEUs a year. It’s shut down” Widdows said. “You shut down Southern California completely for an undetermined period of time, the havoc that would cause begins to work.”
He emphasized that the U.S. was not as impacted by the crisis in the Middle East, citing that some cargo ships-related to U.S. trade don’t begin or stop in Dubai’s port.
“The same thing for Asia and Europe, it’s mostly in the Middle East. It’s a regional impact,” Widdows said. “But the impact on fuel, the cost associated with that is gargantuan. So the uncertainty that was felt for a long time just magnifies.”