Los Angeles reports over 5% cargo shift from Gulf & East Coast ports

The Port of Los Angeles reports a shift of over 5% in cargo from Gulf and Atlantic coast ports caused by disruptions in the Middle East impacting the Suez Canal and drought-related low water at the Panama Canal, according to Eugene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles.

Seroka was speaking at the Port’s media briefing on September 9^th in which he responded to a question from AJOT as to comments he made in August projecting the combination of drought-related issues at the Panama Canal and conflicts in the Middle East impacting the Suez Canal having the effect of shifting cargoes from the Gulf and possibly Atlantic coast ports to the Port of LA and other U.S. West Coast ports.

Cargoes Shift to the West

Seroka said that the August projection turned out to be accurate and that there had been a shift of cargoes from Gulf and Atlantic coast ports of over five percent. This was higher than current volumes accessing the Port: “And yes, I do see evidence the cargo volume remains a little bit elevated compared to earlier estimates in the late spring and early summer, as we just discussed…Several weeks back I said that I would see probably a 5% uptick in cargo compared to normal run rates … that's probably what's happening right now. That may get even a little bit more elevated as we look down the line in the fourth quarter. And I want to make sure that our workforce is guided properly.”

Seroka added that these projections were also based on “my conversations directly with shipping lines, terminal executives and importers around the country (who) all say they're shifting just a little bit of cargo as a hedge on the draft restrictions that have been announced (at the Panama Canal) and may have further guidance on in the weeks and months ahead.”

Seroka said the shift should not be seen as a competition between ports: “This is not for our benefit to work over someone else's shortcoming, but we've got to answer the bell for the American economy, and that's exactly what we're doing.”

Seroka emphasized: “The transportation economics are working in our favor …Transpacific freight rates are tilting toward the West Coast compared to East Coast routings. Add to that the speed of moving cargo through Los Angeles and onto rail and the overall value can be very attractive to importers nationwide. Meanwhile, global routing remains fluid with ongoing constraints at the Panama Canal and continued challenges along other major trade lanes. Some importers are adjusting their allocations.”

Cargo Volumes

Seroka reported that “Our great summer run continued in August. 956,000 container units crossed our docks last month, essentially matching last August, which was one of our best on record. And this year's volume was 6% above our five-year average for the month. But these numbers tell an even bigger story. June, July and August were the best three consecutive months in the Port's history. More than 2.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units moved through our terminals in that short time span. Resilient consumer demand, early holiday shipments, and a broad mix of cargo all drove this historic run.”

The August 2026 cargo breakdown in TEUs was as follows:

• Cargo Volume was 955,897 TEUs in 2026, down from 958,355 TEUs in August 2025
• Imports were 500,133 TEUs in 2026, down from 504,514 TEUs in August 2025

• Exports were 115,561, down from 127,379 TEUS in August 2025

• Empty containers were 340,203, which was up from 326,462 TEUS in August 2025

Seroka said 2026 cargo volumes remain solid: “Looking at the first eight months of the year, we've now handled just over 7 million TEUs. That's one and a half percent above last year and 5% ahead of the five-year pace.”

He said cargo volumes for September also look solid: “Based on what we can see today, September is shaping up to once again exceed 900,000 TEUs. Consumer demand continues to be resilient, and retailers are finding ways to keep goods moving and manage overhead. The Wall Street Journal reports that some companies are using tariff refunds to lower prices or offset costs, which could give consumers some additional relief…”

Impact of Tariffs on Retailers

Seroka’s guest was Brian Dodge, President and CEO of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), who discussed the impact of Trump administration tariffs on retailers importing products from abroad: “Tariffs have had an impact on the decision that retailers make in the short term and ultimately in the long term. So, supply chains for retailers are built to last for decades. And so, as we have seen these policies put into place, we've seen retailers make short-term decisions to move products into the US ahead of the beginning of tariffs being applied on certain products. But we've seen them start to think about what their options are long term as well.”

Dodge said retailers are trying to shield consumers from higher prices caused by the tariffs: “This is all with an eye towards how do we protect customers from price increases. They want to make sure that they are limiting the impact on consumers to the greatest extent possible so that they can spread their discretionary dollars as far as possible.”

Retail Theft

Dodge noted that: “Organized retail crime has been a persistent problem for retailers for many, many years. But historically, it was stealing a product from stores and then having that product sold through online marketplaces. We're not talking about petty shoplifting. We're talking about tremendous volume of product, tens, hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars’ worth of product. And we've made a lot of progress in helping law enforcement understand, and prosecutors prosecute that crime. But sadly, criminals generally don't go out and get an honest day job … They move into a different form of crime. And in this case, we've seen them move upstream into the supply chain.”

The result of thieves moving upstream into the supply chain is: “So those who may have previously been swarming stores to steal tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of product, they're now trying to intercept trucking fleets. They're trying to get into train cargo and create problems up the supply chain and steal high volume … But as we look up the supply chain, we know that both the scale and size of the problem is huge. And criminals don't respect jurisdictional lines. They move across state borders; they move across county borders. And so taken together, these kinds of supply chain cargo theft are a federal crime.”

For this reason, retailers’ truckers, shippers, railroads and others are supporting legislation in Congress: “Even at the federal level, there are jurisdictional gaps. You have the FBI, you have Homeland Security investigations, you have the US Postal Service inspectors who are instrumental in all of this. And so, the ‘Combating Organized Retail Crime Act’ … creates a clearinghouse for investigations at the federal level so that all of the stakeholders can work together and identify these criminals and properly prosecute them. We've had a tremendously successful partnership with our trucking partners, our rail partners … our folks at the ports who care about these issues. And we are hopeful, and we are pressing hard to see the bill passed by the end of the year so that federal authorities have the tools that they need to properly prosecute these criminals.”

Seroka agreed, noting: “And I know here locally in Southern California, the Commercial Crimes Task Force headed by LAPD Captain Francis Boateng, along with our own Port of Los Angeles Police Chief Tom Gazsi and so many others in the public safety area are really working day and night across public and private sector lines to help protect this freight as it moves through.”