October 2025 Container Traffic at North American Ports

The West Coast Trade Report (WCTR) is a monthly publication of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. The WCTR monitors container traffic through 25 North American seaports, twenty in the United States, two in Mexico, and three in Canada. The TEU tallies cited here are the actual statistics released by the ports themselves, not before the fact estimates based on proprietary models. However, as the tardy numbers become available, the Facts & Figures tables on the PMSA website will be promptly updated.

Preliminary Forecasts for October TEU Tallies

On November 7, the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker issued its preliminary forecast for October, projecting that 1.99 million TEUs laden with goods from abroad would arrive at the thirteen U.S. mainland ports it surveys. That would represent a year-over-year decline of 11.5%. Meanwhile, the Descartes Systems Group estimated that 2,306,687 TEUs arrived at all U.S. ports in October, a 7.5 % falloff from a year earlier as 187,948 fewer TEUs arrived this October than had a year earlier.

Preliminary Container Figures

The Port of Los Angeles saw the number of inbound loads in October drop by 7.2% from a year earlier but remain 9.3% above the volume recorded in October 2019. Meanwhile, outbound loads edged up 0.9% from a year earlier to 123,768 TEUs. Total 2025 YTD container trade through the nation’s largest container gateway of 8,665,489 TEUs was up 10.2% from the first ten months of pre-pandemic 2019.

The Port of Long Beach reported 401,915 inbound loaded TEUs in October, a 17.6% fall-off from a year earlier but still a 19.2% gain over October 2019. Outbound loads, meanwhile, slipped to 99,817 TEUs from 112,845 TEUs last October. Total container traffic YTD through the Southern California port amounted to 8,229,916 TEUs, an increase of 29.3% over the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.

Together, the two ports in San Pedro Bay maritime complex saw their total volume of inbound loads drop 12.5% from a year earlier. Outbound loads sailing from the two ports in October were down 5.1% year-over-year.

The Port of Oakland handled 82,195 inbound loaded TEUs in October, a 0.9% increase over the same month last year and 4.6% more than it had discharged in October 2019. Meanwhile, outbound loads (66,195 TEUs) slipped by 0.7% from a year earlier and by 24.3% from October2019. Total container traffic through the San Francisco Bay Area port through the first ten months of this year amounted to 1,900,157 TEUs, down 9.9% from the same period in 2019, when the Northern California port still had the distinction of being the rare major seaport that exported more containers than it imported.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance Ports of Tacoma and Seattle discharged 80,323 laden TEUs in October, a 25.2% fall-off from the previous October as well as a 26.6% plunge from the inbound loads handled by the two ports in October 2019. Outbound loads (50,133 TEUs), while up by 5.4% year-over-year, were down by 36.8% from October 2019. Total box trade through the Washington State ports YTD amounted to 2,665,144 TEUs, down 17.2% from the same period in 2019.

At the Port of Prince Rupert, business picked up briskly in October as the port handled 41,575 inbound loads, a 44.0% bump over a year earlier but nonetheless 27.9% below the import volume the port saw in October 2019. Outbound loads of 14,261 TEUs were likewise up 38.9% from a year before but just 2.5% above the port’s October 2019 export trade. Total container traffic through the Canadian port YTD amounted to 759,586 TEUs, down 23.9% from the same period in 2019.

The Port of Virginia’s inbound traffic shows signs of stalling. While the 123,727 inbound loads  discharged in October represented a 1.8% decline from a year ago, the number of inbound loads was similarly down by 0.3% from October 2019. The Mid-Atlantic Coast port fared better with its exports. Outbound loads of 90,564 TEUs were up 37.0% from a year earlier and 8.4% higher than in October 2019. Total container trade YTD amounted to 2,724,346 TEUs, up 9.6% from the first ten months of 2019.

Inbound loads through the Port of Savannah slipped 8.8% in October from the previous year to 219,528 TEUs but still remained 10.0% above the volume handled in October 2019. Outbound loads (116,769 TEUs) were up 17.5% year-over-year but down 8.8% from the same month in 2019. Total container trade YTD of 4,808,517 TEUs was up 24.1% from the first ten months of 2019.