Los Angeles and Long Beach Set New Container Records

The two major container ports on the US West Coast have just completed a record month. Los Angeles handled a total of 1,042,652 TEU in September 2026 – the highest monthly volume in the port's 118-year history. Long Beach reached 997,177 TEU, an increase of 25 percent compared to the same month last year, and also the highest monthly volume in its history. Combined, the two figures total 2,039,829 TEU. TEU stands for "Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit," a unit of measurement equivalent to a 20-foot container. A 40-foot container equals two TEU. The sum should therefore not be read as the number of individual boxes handled. At Long Beach, loaded imports rose to 509,390 TEU (up 31.3 percent year-over-year). Loaded exports reached 91,747 TEU (up 7.8 percent). This was supplemented by significantly more empty containers (up 22.1 percent to 396,040 TEU). Overall throughput and imported cargo volume are thus different metrics. For European and Swiss freight forwarders with US business, these records are reason to carefully coordinate onward transportation. A high monthly figure says little about how quickly a specific container leaves the terminal. According to FreightWaves and the International Transport Journal, Long Beach reported no congestion despite record volumes. A blanket warning about overcrowded ports would therefore be premature. In practice, the dispatcher should verify before the container's arrival whether it will continue by truck or rail, who has confirmed the order, and whether customs clearance is in place in time. With multiple service providers, there must be clear responsibility for the handover. Time frames should also be included in the order. Demurrage simply means charges if a container remains in the terminal too long. Detention refers to late return outside the terminal. Which conditions apply must be verified for the specific booking. Those who clarify these points only after discharge waste valuable time unnecessarily.