08 Jul US Shipping Port Report: A Surprisingly Strong First Half

This US Shipping Port Report reveals a surprisingly strong first half in 2025. This post provides you useful insights on the trends and factors which are impacting the supply chain, transportation, logistics and financial professionals served by SSI. As a bonus, you will see a top 10 list of US ports, ranked by annual TEUs handled. Also, we will explain how SSI global freight audit and payment services will reduce your global freight spend.

US SHIPPING PORT VOLUME IS SWELLING

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were humming with activity in June. In fact, they each recorded their highest volumes since January, according to a recent State of Freight update from CNBC. ¹

So, what is prompting this fresh wave of imports? On May 12, US and Chinese trade negotiators agreed on a temporary 90-day pause on skyrocketing tariffs – a “trade war ceasefire” if you will.

Clearly, the influx of imports has been driven by a host of supply chain managers taking action in May to frontload orders during this welcomed, “tariff pause”. Leading the way were retailers who stocked up on inventory for the holiday season. Since the tariff agreement expires August 12, shippers chose the short, direct, Trans-Pacific shipping lanes to get their goods onshore ahead of the deadline.

A STRONGER THAN EXPECTED FIRST HALF AT US PORTS

Considering the prolonged, high level of tariff and trade uncertainty, the first half of 2025 was remarkably solid at the nation’s two largest seaports,. For example, the Port of Los Angeles handled more than 4 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) through May. That’s 4% above the same time period than last year. ²

Ironically, it was the ongoing tariff uncertainty that boosted volumes during much of the first six months of the year. From January through April, many supply chain managers were already frontloading orders to beat what were expected to be higher tariffs.

That was a wise move. On April 9, an astounding 125% tariff on goods from China was set by the administration in Washington. That was on top of successive 10% tariff increases announced in February and March. Not surprisingly, a 145% tariff rate caused May shipping volume along the West Coast to crater after 10 straight months of year-over-year growth. ³

According to Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, “May marked our lowest monthly cargo output in over two years. While May volume is typically stronger than April as we approach our traditional peak season, our imports dropped 19% compared to last month.” ⁴

Because the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handle about 40% of imports, those two ports receive the most media coverage.

So, you may have missed this notable news: the Port of New York and New Jersey was actually the busiest US seaport in May, processing nearly 775,000 TEUs. That figure is an impressive 20% higher than pre-pandemic May volumes.

Also on the East Coast, the Port of Savannah, Georgia, recorded its second-busiest May ever, handling 500,000 TEUs. ⁵

It is too early to tell if the elevated East Coast volumes are sustainable. However, since future tariffs are unknown, supply chain managers may be frontloading goods from Europe and elsewhere simply to mitigate the risk of higher tariff rates in the second-half of 2024.

WILL CONTAINER SHIPPING RATES RISE OR FALL?

Global spot container-shipping rates have gyrated recently. According to Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI), at the beginning of this year the WCI was about $4K (US) per forty-foot container. That figure dropped steadily, bottoming out at just over $2K in early May.

Globally, a combination of high inflation, weak economic growth, trade uncertainty, and geopolitical turmoil created headwinds that suppressed ocean freight rates during that timeframe.

However, over the course of 6 weeks in May and June, the WCI rebounded, rising to a peak of $3.5K.

At the time of this writing the WCI composite rate is declining again and currently stands at just under $3.0K. Of note, that is a steep 44% lower than at this time last year. ⁷

Forecasters expect global shipping demand to be somewhat muted during the second half of the year. The US frontloading trend will dissipate and all the factors that suppressed rates globally in much of the first half are likely to remain intact.

A recent Global Port Tracker report published by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, provides a sobering US import forecast for the second half of the year.

Total import volume handled at major US ports is expected to drop each month through October.

-July volume: 2.13M TEUs, down 8.1% YoY.

-August volume: 1.98M TEUs, down 14.7% YoY.

-September volume: 1.78M TEUs, down 21.8% YoY.

-October volume: 1.8M TEUs, down 19.8% YoY. ⁸

Even if ocean carriers are able to reduce capacity, it seems unlikely their spot shipping rates will climb much in the second-half of the year. Of course, no one knows what unexpected trade, tariff, or geopolitical surprises will arise between now and December. Any number of things may jolt rates upwards.

WHAT ARE THE TOP 10 US CONTAINER MARITIME PORTS?

Are you curious which US ports handle the most containers? You’re not alone. Fortunately, the team at Marine Insight provide helpful facts. The rankings below are based on 2024 annual processing volume.

TOP 10 LIST OF US MARITIME PORTS

1. Los Angeles – 10.3M TEUs. Remarkably, LA handles more than 20% of all US imports.
2. Long Beach – 9.6M TEUs. Located just a few miles from the Port of LA in San Pedro Bay.
3. New York/New Jersey – 8.7M TEUs. By far, the busiest US East Coast port.
4. Savannah – 5.6M TEUs. The port’s volume has consistently grown and is expanding.
5. Houston – 4.14M TEUs. The largest Gulf port & the busiest for foreign-waterborne tonnage.
6. Virginia – 3.5M TEUs. Two-thirds of Americans live within a day’s drive of this port.
7. Seattle/Tacoma – 3.3M TEUs. A crucial gateway for the Pacific Northwest region.
8. Charleston – 2.5M TEUs. In South Carolina, the port provides easy access to America’s sunbelt.
9. Oakland – 2.26M TEUs. Located on San Francisco Bay, this is the 4^th largest Pacific Coast port.
10. Miami – 1.1M TEUs. The world’s largest port for cruise ships also handles containerized cargo. ^10.

HOW WILL US PORT TRENDS IMPACT TRUCKING CARRIERS?

As mentioned, US seaports had a surprisingly strong first half. In spite of that, trucking demand – especially demand for truckload carriers – has been declining for months. While frontloading provided a surge of imports, U.S. truckload tonnage declined 0.3% in April after a 1.5% dip in March. ¹⁰

Perhaps the current influx of goods during the temporary US-China tariff pause will provide an early peak season boost to these freight carriers. Even so, any higher volumes gained this summer won’t be sustainable, according to many freight experts.

New tariffs are expected to suppress imports in the second half and weak demand from US manufacturers will continue to bedevil truckload carriers. As the California Trucking Association put it, “Less goods coming to the ports means less truck drivers on the road.” ¹¹

That straightforward assessment was echoed by Los Angeles port executive director, Gene Seroka who in May stated, “Global tariffs have led to ripple effects across the supply chain, including fewer ships and containers to haul.” ¹²

Further, most economists agree higher tariffs will exacerbate inflation and create a more challenging economic environment, which is likely to dampen consumer and manufacturing spending in the US.

For many freight transport companies, a weakening US economy in the second-half simply will add insult to injury. For three years, trucking companies, and truckload carriers in particular, have been hobbled by an overabundance of capacity, low spot rates, higher operating costs, and weak demand. ¹³

DO YOU NEED TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR SHIPPING & FREIGHT BILLS?

Doesn’t everyone? That’s why we suggest you reach out to our team at SSI. A FedEx-certified freight bill audit & payment (FBAP) service provider, SSI serves the needs of supply chain, operations, logistics, shipping and finance executives.

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• Customizable solution scales with your growing and dynamic business needs.
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• Over 30 years of experience in transacting international payments for our customers.
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• Actionable business intelligence supports supply chain optimization and operational efficiencies.

Our team is eager to help you save money. To learn more, contact SSI.

Footnotes:
1. Lori Ann LaRocco, “California ports see new wave of freight containers as ships try to beat China tariff hike“. June 24, 2025, as published by CNBC.
2, 11, 12. Alejandra Carranza, “As Los Angeles Port volumes slow, truckers see less business“. June 16, 2025, as published by Supply Chain Dive.
3, 4, The Port of Los Angeles Media Briefing, “Tariffs Slow Port of Los Angeles Cargo Volume“. June 13, 2025, as published by The Port of Los Angeles.
5. MI News Network, “Port Of New York & New Jersey Becomes Busiest US Seaport In May 2025“. June 28, 2025, as published by Marine Insight.
6,7. Drewry Supply Chain Advisors, “World Container Index”. June 26, 2025, as published by Drewry.
8. NRF press release, “Import Cargo Levels Expected to See Surge During Pause in Tariff Increases“. June 11, 2025, as published by NRF.
9. Zahra Ahmed, “Top 10 Largest And Busiest Container Ports In The United States“. March 9, 2025, as published by Marine Insight.
10, 13. Alejandra Carranza, ” Tariffs, manufacturing weakness expected to further drag down truckload demand“. June 17, 2025, as published by Trucking Dive.

SSI blog post entitled: US Shipping Port Report: A Surprisingly Strong First Half.