In its latest analysis, Sea-Intelligence reported a sharp divergence in the performance of major US West Coast ports during the contraction of laden imports in the second quarter of 2025.
The Port of Los Angeles increased its share of West Coast imports by 2.8 percentage points in the quarter, largely at the expense of the neighboring Port of Long Beach.
The first quarter of 2025 was marked by a front-loading surge, followed by a severe decline in May and June.
The downturn did not affect all ports equally.
The Port of Long Beach posted a year-on-year increase of 45.0% in January but saw a sharp reversal by June.
In contrast, the Port of Los Angeles registered a 9.7% year-on-year increase in laden inbound volumes in June, a period when all other major West Coast ports were in decline.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma experienced the strongest fluctuations, falling from a 34.7% rise in January to a 27.3% contraction in June.
Among the West Coast gateways, the Port of Los Angeles was the only facility to expand its share of laden imports in the second quarter, while the Port of Long Beach lost 2.2 percentage points over the same period.
Sea-Intelligence is a privately held consultancy and research firm specializing in supply chain and container shipping market analysis. The company provides data-driven reports and forecasting to the shipping and logistics industry.
