Port of Long Beach posts the busiest month in its 115-year history, and braces for a 16-month bridge closure next door

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Aerial view of the Port of Long Beach and Gerald Desmond Bridge

Imports jumped about 31%, with rail volumes at a terminal record. The port is adding extended gate hours around the bridge closure.

By Alberto Zamudio | The Southbound 105 | Oct. 15, 2026

The Port of Long Beach had its biggest month ever in September, moving 997,177 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the standard measure of container volume.

"The single busiest month in the Port's 115-year history, edging out our previous record set in October 2024 by about 10,000 TEUs," CEO Noel Hacegaba said at the port's Oct. 15 media briefing, according to the trade publication AJOT. The previous record was 987,191 TEUs, Softgoods Report said.

The numbers

Per Softgoods Report's breakdown of the port's September figures:

  • Imports: 509,390 TEUs, up 31.3%.
  • Exports: 91,747 TEUs, up 7.8%.
  • Empties: 396,040 TEUs, up 22.1%.

Hacegaba said the port has moved more than 7.67 million TEUs so far this year, a 3.9% increase over the same January-through-September period last year, and that imports were up about 30% over last year in September, AJOT reported. He added that Total Terminals International set a monthly rail record at the port with 59,410 moves, nearly half of that terminal's container volume.

The Port of Los Angeles also had a record month, topping 1 million TEUs and beating its July 2025 record by 23,000 units, according to the Los Angeles Times. Softgoods Report put the combined total for the two ports at 2.04 million TEUs, with combined loaded imports up 24% from a year earlier.

Why volumes jumped

The Los Angeles Times attributed the surge to lower tariffs and the holiday season. Softgoods Report reported that importers gained tariff cost certainty and rerouted cargo away from disruptions at the Panama and Suez canals, and that Vietnam is now the second-largest trading partner at both ports. At Long Beach, China's share of cargo fell from 70% six years ago to 55% last year, the outlet said. The Port of Los Angeles' executive director, Gene Seroka, expects about 900,000 TEUs there in October, at least 6.1% above last year, with most holiday merchandise in the country by early November, Softgoods reported.

A bridge closure next door

Hacegaba used the briefing to address the Vincent Thomas Bridge, which Caltrans will close Nov. 7 for 16 months for a deck replacement. "I want to be clear: This closure will not affect operations here at the Port of Long Beach," he said, according to AJOT. To keep cargo moving, port terminals will offer extra shifts for a six-week period, starting two weeks before the closure and continuing through the first four weeks after it, to make more evening and weekend gate hours available.

Trucking pressures

Hacegaba said high diesel prices are hurting truckers: "The average price of diesel is now more than $8 a gallon. That's a $3 increase from 2025," as quoted by AJOT. He said truckers are reporting $700 to $800 per fill-up and that smaller trucking companies are struggling to keep cash on hand. AJOT reported he also said a presidential executive order would allow truckers to buy tax-free diesel, which is normally limited to farm and construction equipment.

The Harbor Trucking Association's CEO, Robert Loya, wrote an advisory to members describing congestion tied to port congestion in China, with terminals building "super piles" of containers in overflow areas, AJOT reported. Hacegaba responded that the port is handling more cargo than ever, more than during the pandemic-era crisis when there were 109 ships at anchor. "There are zero ships at anchor," he said.

Why it matters locally

Port volume affects truck traffic, rail crossings and air quality in Long Beach, Wilmington and West Long Beach neighborhoods. A record month means more trucks on local roads at the same time the region prepares for detours from the bridge closure. For consumers, heavy September imports are the front end of the holiday merchandise flow.

What's next

  • Nov. 7: Vincent Thomas Bridge closes for 16 months; Long Beach terminals' extra shifts begin two weeks earlier.
  • October numbers: Los Angeles expects about 900,000 TEUs; Long Beach's October total will come in the next monthly report.
  • Holiday season: Seroka said most holiday goods should be in the country by early November.
  • Watch diesel and congestion: trucking groups continue to raise cost and container-yard congestion concerns.

Want more local news? Read more at The Southbound 105.

Cover photo: Northwalker, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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