After the Port of Long Beach posted its third-busiest June on record, CEO Noel Hacegaba signaled that the traditional end-of-summer peak shipping season is “outdated and obsolete,” giving way to a fluid environment where businesses must account more for volatility than certainty.
“Flexibility has become the supply chain’s greatest competitive advantage, but it now signals peak season is no longer a season,” Hacegaba said in a media briefing Tuesday. “When it comes to seasonal goods that typically hit the market certain times of the year, we are seeing those goods enter the U.S. market sooner. What typically characterized holiday peak season has been replaced by a yearlong wave of cargo that comes in different spurts.”
This year, the peak shipping season has been pulled forward due to multiple factors, including front-loading ahead of new tariff deadlines for a second straight year, along with increases in fuel costs sparked by the war in Iran and a need to restock on low inventories.
Hacegaba noted that goods that typically hit the store shelves in October, November and December are now arriving at the San Pedro Bay port as early as spring.
“I think that is something that will continue in the foreseeable future,” Hacegaba said. “It’s a strategy to mitigate risk.”
In June, the Southern California port moved more than 779,331 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 10.6 percent increase over year-ago figures.
Imports rose 11 percent to over 387,025 TEUs. Exports were down 1.3 percent to over 86,446 TEUs, and emptying containers were up 14.1 percent to nearly 305,860 TEUs.
The June figures saw a smaller jump than the projections made across all major U.S. ports monitored by the Global Port Tracker from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. According to the Global Port Tracker, estimated June throughput could amount to 2.33 million TEUs, up 18.7 percent year over year.
Hacegaba highlighted some of the factors leading to the growth during the month.
“We’re seeing ocean carriers add services to meet the demand,” said Hacegaba. “They’re also bringing more unscheduled ships to the port, known as extra loaders, to import more cargo and remove empty containers to clear the docks and create more space on our terminals.”
Year-to-date, the Port of Long Beach has handled 4.83 million TEUs since January, 1.7 percent ahead of last year’s record 2025. Despite the front-loading efforts from shippers, the port CEO expects the gateway to see “robust growth” in the second half of the year.
The L.B. port unveiled on Monday that it acquired a commercial office property to create a hub for companies connected to maritime trade.
The move aligns with Long Beach mayor Rex Richardson’s “AnchorLB” economic development strategy, which is aimed at encouraging international shippers, manufacturers and other logistics businesses to locate their offices in downtown Long Beach.
The property includes a 13-story building with 226,748 rentable square feet of office space and a five-level parking structure.
AnchorLB helps fortify the Long Beach hub’s long-term vision for 2050, in which it expects to double annual container volumes to 20 million. To help reach that goal, the port is undertaking a 10-year $3.3 billion infrastructure modernization strategy, the centerpiece of which is the $1.8 billion Pier B on-dock rail support facility designed to triple the volume of cargo moved by rail when completed in 2032.
On the same day as the briefing, Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approve a $255 million investment to deepen the port’s main channel and reduce pollution from ships waiting to dock outside the harbor. Garcia said the investment will not only reduce pollution but also will lower costs and prevent cargo delays.
Long Beach’s sister gateway, the Port of Los Angeles, has yet to report its June cargo figures.
Last week, that port announced it signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Yantian International Container Terminals and Shenzhen Port Group, establishing a green shipping corridor initiative between the hubs to advance sustainable trade and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The port has established green shipping corridor partnerships with hubs in Shanghai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and partners in Vietnam.
The MOU encourages collaboration through technical exchanges, sharing of best practices, research and demonstration projects, business development, workforce engagement and regular dialogue among the participating ports.
