Long Beach Port Sets August Record for Cargo Throughput, Landside Transport Capacity Tightens

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 21, the Port of Long Beach released its August container throughput data, reporting 919,922 TEU for the month, up 2% year on year, setting a new record for August in the port's history. Imports rose 3.6% year on year, while exports increased 4%. From January to August this year, the Port of Long Beach handled a total of 6,687,078 TEU, up 1.3% year on year, continuing to exceed the level of the same period in 2025.

Port of Long Beach CEO Noel Hacegaba said the August cargo growth was driven by multiple factors, including Panama Canal transit restrictions, importers front-loading inventory, and supply chain adjustments. Some cargo owners diverted goods originally planned for U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports to the U.S. West Coast. The Port of Los Angeles previously said that Panama Canal transit conditions and disruptions on Suez Canal-related routes together pushed more than 5% of cargo volume to shift to U.S. West Coast ports.

The Port of Long Beach expects cargo volumes to remain high in September, with strong transport demand likely to persist through October and into the first week of November. The National Retail Federation recently also raised its forecast for U.S. major container port imports in September, projecting imports to reach 2.31 million TEU, up 9.6% year on year, the highest monthly level since 2026.

The port cargo growth has already transmitted to the landside transport segment. The Intermodal Association of North America said that current port drayage capacity is notably tight, transport prices are rising, and insufficient driver supply is further squeezing road transport capacity. J.B. Hunt recently handled intermodal volumes at high levels while increasing spending related to drayage drivers. In July, U.S. domestic intermodal volume rose 12% year on year, with some cargo owners increasing the proportion of rail-road intermodal transport.

The Port of Long Beach is advancing the Pier B rail facility expansion and modernization project, with an investment of approximately $1.8 billion. Construction began in 2024 and is scheduled for completion in 2032. The project will expand the port area's rail classification capacity and adjust the port's internal rail operation system. The Port of Long Beach expects that after Pier B becomes operational, rail cargo handling time can be shortened from the current approximately 4 days to 1 day.

The adjacent Port of Los Angeles handled approximately 956,000 TEU in August, essentially flat compared with the same period in 2025; the cumulative throughput for the three months from June to August exceeded 2.9 million TEU, setting the port's best consecutive three-month record in history. The Port of Los Angeles has officially listed August 2026 as its annual cargo data release milestone.