June 26th, 2025 – Ports along the U.S. West Coast are experiencing a temporary surge in import volumes as shippers rush to move goods ahead of upcoming tariff deadlines. The brief spike in activity is a welcome change following a sluggish May and early June and is driven by the expiration of temporary tariff relief measures enacted by the Trump administration.
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are preparing for a notable uptick in container traffic. Los Angeles projects import volumes of 138,519 TEUs this week, gradually decreasing to 124,713 TEUs next week, then 101,003 TEUs by the week of July 6th.
Long Beach, meanwhile, expects 84,109 TEUs this week, rising sharply to 125,286 TEUs next week and maintaining strong volumes with 116,947 TEUs the week on July 6th.
Both ports consider any week exceeding 100,000 TEUs to be strong, signaling that the short-term outlook is optimistic.
These projections mark a significant rebound from May, when Los Angeles handled just 320,878 TEUs – averaging roughly 71,000 TEUs per week – while Long Beach processed 296,348 TEUs, or about 66,000 weekly. This surge suggests a front-loading of cargo ahead of two key policy dates: July 9th, when a 90-day tariff pause on a broad range of imports ends, and August 14th, when specific relief on Chinese imports expires. What follows those dates remains uncertain.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance, covering Seattle and Tacoma, is also seeing increased activity, projecting 55 vessel arrivals for June – up from 46 in May – with steady numbers expected through August. Officials there cite a reduction in blank sailings and increased inbound cargo as drivers of the bump in volumes during the latter half of June.
Despite the influx, West Coast ports are not expected to face major congestion. With relatively light volumes in recent weeks, terminals should have capacity to handle the increase.
The rise in import activity could also momentarily stabilize falling spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific trade. As of Monday, rates from Asia to the U.S. West Coast sat at $2,900 per FEU – down 10% from the previous week and 50% lower than the $6,040 peak reached earlier in June. Rate volatility has become a daily concern for forwarders, with pricing updates occurring almost in real time.
This early surge in shipments may signal a shift in the traditional peak season timeline, which usually runs from August through October. However, broader indicators suggest that this volume boost may be short-lived. The latest Global Port Tracker, published by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, projects year-over-year import declines of over 8% in July and as much as 21.8% in September.
Trans-Border will continue to monitor the situation and advise customers accordingly. Should you have any questions, please send us an email or give us a call at 518-785-6000.
