A lack of recent federal data due to an extended U.S. government shutdown is making it more difficult for importers to make purchasing and investment decisions, particularly ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, Executive Director Gene Seroka said during a Nov. 18 media briefing.
Purchase orders from U.S. importers, which make up a large number of containers coming through the port, are expected to trickle into factories in Asia during December in advance of the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts Feb. 17. Seroka said retailers typically have about a three-month window to enter such orders, while manufacturers have “a little bit less.”
From there, the port will likely see a run-up of activity due to a short six-week window between the end of the year and the weeklong holiday. So far, it’s been a “pretty normal look” in advance of getting goods out before the holiday shutdown, Seroka said.
“So we'll have about six weeks coming out of the traditional year-end holidays to ramp up cargo to move out before that all important weeklong holiday where factories typically close down, and we'll see a lot of folks going back to their hometowns to visit with family and friends,” the port director said.
Despite the potential run-up, Seroka expects cargo volumes to soften in November and December, compared to last year when shippers were frontloading as a shield against looming tariffs.
Regardless, the Port of Los Angeles is within reach of a 10 million container unit-mark for 2025, according to Seroka. In October, the port processed 848,431 TEUs, which was down 6% year over year, but 1% above the port’s five-year average.
October imports were in line with the port’s five-year trend at 429,283 TEUs despite retailers and manufacturers moderating orders heading into year-end, Seroka said.
On the export side, the Port of Los Angeles handled 123,768 TEUs in October, which was 7% above the port’s five-year running average. Empties stood at 295,380 TEUs in October.
