America’s container gateways are settling into a post-pandemic rhythm. Fresh Pacific Merchant Shipping Association figures for August — the backbone of a new FreightWaves analysis — show the San Pedro Bay complex holding near last year’s pace while remaining well above 2019 levels, a sign that volumes have normalized even as trade policy and pricing churn in the background.
Los Angeles processed 504,514 inbound loaded TEUs in August (down 1% year over year, but up 15% versus August 2019), while neighboring Long Beach handled 440,318 (down 3.6% year over year, up 36.4% vs. 2019). Combined inbound loads at the nation’s largest gateway reached 944,832, off 2.2% from a year ago yet still a quarter higher than pre-COVID. Elsewhere on the West Coast, Oakland ticked down 1.2% y/y and the Northwest Seaport Alliance (Seattle/Tacoma) fell 24.8% y/y, underscoring how carrier network choices continue to redistribute flows among ports.
The East and Gulf coasts remain vital counterweights. New York–New Jersey logged 416,009 inbound loads in August, up 5.2% y/y and 21.4% above 2019, while Port Houston’s inbound loads rose 3.9% y/y to 169,631 — a striking 53.8% jump over August 2019 that reflects years of investment and industrial growth across Texas. Charleston posted an 11.7% y/y gain in inbound loads, continuing its steady Southeast momentum. For truckers, that mix translates into diverse freight opportunities across regional drayage and inland legs rather than the single-coast surges seen in 2021–22.
Pricing is nudging higher at the margins. The Drewry World Container Index rose 3% this week to $1,746 per FEU, its second straight weekly gain after a 17‑week slide, with Shanghai–Los Angeles and Shanghai–New York up 4% and 6% respectively. Carriers are signaling fresh GRIs on November 1 and 15 to keep spot rates from slipping back. For domestic carriers and brokers, those ocean moves matter: modestly firmer seaborne rates can shift routing decisions between all‑water East Coast services and faster West Coast-to-intermodal options, affecting where and when import boxes hit your yards.
Xeneta’s late‑week snapshot echoes the turn: Far East–US West Coast spot averages climbed to $2,044 per FEU and Far East–US East Coast to $2,953, with blank sailings helping hold capacity below September levels. If those increases stick, expect a steadier cadence of arrivals into West Coast rail ramps and SoCal drayage — and slightly less incentive for shippers to push everything all‑water to the East.
On-the-ground efficiency is improving where it counts. Georgia Ports reported Savannah handled 486,000 TEUs in September, up 8% y/y, while truckers averaged roughly 50-minute dual-turn gate times and rail dwell hovered at 22 hours — operational metrics that translate directly into better driver utilization and fewer detention headaches for carriers serving the Southeast. Those gains help offset softer autumn bookings tied to earlier tariff‑driven pull‑forwards and should support stable drayage demand as boxes clear to inland DCs.
Bottom line for trucking: ports are no longer whipsawing between feast and famine. West Coast volumes have normalized above 2019 without the meltdown, the Southeast is running fluid, and rate signals suggest incremental — not explosive — changes in near‑term import flows. Plan networks around balanced coast‑to‑coast demand, keep an eye on November GRIs for any routing shifts, and lean into markets where port turn times and rail dwell are delivering faster asset cycles.
Sources: FreightWaves, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, Georgia Ports Authority, Drewry, Xeneta
This article was prepared exclusively for TruckStopInsider.com. Republishing is permitted only with proper credit and a link back to the original source.
