The Port of Los Angeles handled more cargo last month than during any other June in its 118-year history as retailers continued pulling shipments forward ahead of more shifts in U.S. trade policy.
The nation’s busiest container gateway processed 1,002,734 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in June, up 12.4 percent year over year and marking only the third time the port has surpassed the 1 million-TEU mark in a single month.
Loaded imports climbed 12.8 percent to 530,558 TEUs, while exports were essentially flat at 126,365 TEUs. Through the first half of the year, Los Angeles has handled 5.12 million TEUs, roughly 3.4 percent ahead of last year’s pace.
“Through all this, one constant stands out—the resilience of the American consumer,” said the port’s executive director Gene Seroka, even as more are bargain hunting and shifting their buying habits.
During a briefing Wednesday, Seroka noted the month reflects the fundamental shift in how businesses are managing and replenishing inventory. Retailers have been running lean on merchandise over the past year, with U.S. retail’s inventories-to-sales ratio falling to 1.25 in May, the lowest since January 2023’s 1.24 ratio.
“Many companies have stepped away from traditional seasonal shipping patterns, advancing cargo whenever they see an opening rather than waiting for perfect conditions,” Seroka said, echoing the sentiment of Noel Hacegaba, the CEO of sister gateway Port of Long Beach.
Earlier this week, Hacegaba called the normal August-to-October peak shipping season cadence “outdated and obsolete.”
The shifts comes down to a balancing act for importers, who are now juggling back-to-school and holiday demand against evolving tariff policies, higher fuel costs and broader global uncertainty. That uncertainty may only intensify over the coming weeks.
Joining Seroka during the briefing, Dartmouth College economics professor Douglas Irwin said importers are preparing for another significant shift in U.S. trade policy as temporary 10-percent Section 122 tariffs expire on July 24, with the Trump administration rushing to replace them with a new duty framework built around two separate Section 301 investigations.
The first probe is tied to forced labor allegations against 60 countries, while the second is based on claims that 16 nations are undercutting U.S. manufacturing via overproduction.
Irwin said businesses should pay close attention not only to the tariff rates themselves but also to how widely they differ between sourcing countries.
“With the Section 122 tariffs and then the new Section 301 tariffs under forced labor, those are pretty flat across different countries. You didn’t really have to pick and choose where you’re sourcing your supply from. You’re going to pay the same tax,” said Irwin. “But with these new 301s, they could be very different across different countries. And what that means is big reshufflings of supply chains depending on what those tariffs are.”
For apparel brands and retailers that have spent years diversifying production beyond China, the lack of predictability may be just as disruptive as the tariffs themselves.
“We’re sort of in this uneasy truce with China, but you don’t know when that’s going to rise to the top of the agenda,” said Irwin, noting companies remain unable to determine whether new tariffs represent permanent policy or simply negotiating leverage that could change weeks later.
Alongside the tariffs, fuel costs continue to create another layer of complexity as hostilities in Iran escalate again.
Although cargo moving through the L.A. port has largely avoided operational disruptions stemming from conflict in the Middle East, Seroka warned that rising bunker fuel prices are likely to filter through supply chains in the coming months via higher carrier fuel surcharges.
Fuel now accounts for upwards of 30 percent of a vessel’s voyage, Seroka said.
Ocean carriers typically adjust bunker surcharges using formulas that lag underlying fuel prices by several months. That means even if oil markets stabilize, carriers can still pass on elevated fuel surcharges to importers well after wholesale energy costs retreat.
Seroka said the effects were most immediate for trains and trucks carrying the goods in and out of the San Pedro Bay port.
“The majority of our truckers in the harbor community are small to middle-size businesses, so the impacts are real,” Seroka said.
Port of Los Angeles launches $75 million EV truck incentive
Separately, the Port of Los Angeles unveiled a $75 million incentive program this week aimed at accelerating adoption of battery-electric drayage trucks serving the gateway.
The Zero-Emission Truck Purchasing Incentive Project will provide licensed motor carriers registered in the Port Drayage Truck Registry with up to $300,000 per Class 8 battery-electric truck, provided applicants commit to purchasing at least 10 vehicles.
Individual fleets may receive as much as $24 million under the program. Funding includes $50 million from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program and $25 million generated through the port’s Clean Truck Fund Rate.
The initiative is designed to tackle one of the biggest hurdles slowing zero-emission truck adoption: upfront vehicle costs.
The incentive program is part of a broader, more than $600 million investment package supporting the port’s goal of transitioning terminal operations to zero emissions while modernizing drayage fleets that move cargo between marine terminals, warehouses and inland distribution hubs.
