en.Wedoany.com Reported - In April 2026, the Port of Long Beach handled 817,992 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 5.7% decrease compared to April 2025. April of last year had set the record for the busiest month in the port's history.

Port of Long Beach CEO Dr. Noel Hacegaba said in a statement: "In our industry, the only certainty is uncertainty. With recent supply chain disruptions amplifying the volatility and instability of global trade, ports must become safe harbors in a sea of trade and geopolitical uncertainty to ensure the smooth flow of goods."

The April figures extended the weakness seen in March, when the port handled 774,935 TEUs, also below the record levels of the previous year. In the first quarter of 2026, the Port of Long Beach remained the busiest container port in the United States, but throughput was lower than the historic highs of 2025. Port officials identified rising fuel prices, tariff uncertainty, and geopolitical instability as the three major headwinds facing the supply chain.

The deteriorating security situation around the Strait of Hormuz continues to plague the shipping market, driving up fuel costs and war risk insurance premiums, and forcing longer voyages on global trade routes. Hacegaba warned at a press conference last month: "What happens in the supply chain doesn't stay in the supply chain; it shows up in the prices people pay every day."

Container pricing reflects the ongoing pressure on the supply chain. According to data from Xeneta and Drewry, spot freight rates on major trans-Pacific routes remain significantly higher than pre-conflict levels. Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, said: "Volatility in the global ocean supply chain means shippers and carriers are rarely happy with the price of bought and sold freight at the same time, but that seems to be the case on the trans-Pacific trade—where average spot rates are plateauing at an elevated level amid the ongoing Middle East conflict."

Sand added that the average spot rate from the Far East to the U.S. West Coast remains more than 50% higher than pre-conflict levels at the end of February, but has been largely flat over the past month. One reason for the short-term stabilization in the trans-Pacific market is that U.S. shippers are delaying signing new long-term contracts due to the uncertainty caused by the Middle East crisis.

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