Port of Los Angeles Container Volume Rises 5.7 Percent in April

The Port of Los Angeles processed 890,861 container units in April, a 5.7 percent increase from the same month last year and the second-highest April total on record. The gain occurred despite the war in Iran, sharply higher shipping fuel costs and continued uncertainty over tariffs.

Imports drove the increase, rising to about 460,000 20-foot equivalent units. That figure represented a 5 percent increase from a year earlier and a 21 percent jump from March. Port officials said resilient consumer spending in the United States remained the main factor.

"And what's driving this, generally speaking, is the American consumer, still resilient, still spending," a port executive director said during a news conference. The official added that early shipments of back-to-school and holiday merchandise had already begun moving from Asia.

That total sits 2 percent above the five-year average but 2 percent below last year's pace, which had been elevated as importers moved goods ahead of tariffs imposed by President Trump. More than 95 percent of the port's trade involves Asian partners.

China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam ranked as the top five countries.

Outbound containers fell 0.5 percent to about 128,000 TEUs in April. Officials attributed part of the decline to the effects of tariffs on export markets. Last week a federal judge ruled that 10 percent global tariffs imposed by President Trump under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 were unlawful.

The duties had been introduced after an earlier round of tariffs was struck down in February. It was not immediately clear how the ruling would affect importers who had already paid the levies. The Justice Department could appeal the decision to a federal appeals court.

A former U.S. Trade Representative under former President Biden, who spoke at the briefing, said tariff-rich environments would continue and that uncertainty around their deployment remained high. "It's a deeply disruptive time," the former official stated.

Cargo ships calling at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach faced sharply higher fuel costs after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Fuel prices at the twin ports stood nearly 20 percent above levels at other major ports in the United States and worldwide.

A typical vessel requires millions of gallons of fuel per visit. Shippers have sought to reduce consumption and avoid costly routes. Officials expect much of the added expense to appear in the final prices of goods arriving in the hundreds of thousands of containers that move through the port each month.