{"api":"The Dwell Data API","version":"v1","docs":"https://the-dwell.com/api","data_as_of":"2026-09","data_as_of_label":"Sep 2026","data_pulled_at":"2026-11-11T14:47:33.427Z","generated_at":"2026-11-11T18:41:17.936Z","attribution":"Credit The Dwell (the-dwell.com) with a visible link to the page the figure came from; every record carries its page_url.","id":"busiest/us-container-ports","section":"busiest","section_label":"Busiest ports","title":"Busiest US container ports by import volume","subtitle":"The tracked US container ports ranked by loaded-import volume, year to date and latest month, in TEU, from the port authorities' numbers republished by BTS","description":"Busiest US container ports by loaded imports: Los Angeles leads at 4,221,440 TEU YTD 2026, across 9 tracked ports, 18,744,098 TEU total. Monthly TEU from the port authorities via BTS.","page_url":"https://the-dwell.com/busiest/us-container-ports","headline":"Los Angeles leads at 4,221,440 TEU YTD 2026","unit":"TEU","data_through":"2026-09","date_precision":"monthly","frequency":"Monthly","status":"current","source":"Port authority monthly container statistics, republished by BTS","provenance":{"source":"Port authority monthly container statistics, republished by BTS","series":"Loaded-import TEU by port, ranked; year-to-date and latest month; each port's loaded imports, loaded exports and empties","basis":"Import-demand ranking, not a congestion reading","geography":"The tracked US container ports","unit":"TEU","period":"Monthly, year-to-date vs the same months a year earlier","lastObservation":"Sep 2026","frequency":"Monthly"},"citation":"Busiest US container ports by loaded imports as of Sep 2026: Los Angeles leads at 4,221,440 TEU YTD 2026 (monthly TEU from the port authorities, via BTS; The Dwell). The Dwell. https://the-dwell.com/busiest/us-container-ports","series":[{"label":"Loaded imports","unit":"TEU","points":[{"date":"2019-01","value":1794378.6},{"date":"2019-02","value":1536010.9},{"date":"2019-03","value":1514816.35},{"date":"2019-04","value":1653035},{"date":"2019-05","value":1756818.35},{"date":"2019-06","value":1705869.45},{"date":"2019-07","value":1866673.9},{"date":"2019-08","value":1855624.45},{"date":"2019-09","value":1783951.7},{"date":"2019-10","value":1786837.1},{"date":"2019-11","value":1599656.7},{"date":"2019-12","value":1630997.65},{"date":"2020-01","value":1731440.1},{"date":"2020-02","value":1419956.3},{"date":"2020-03","value":1287889.55},{"date":"2020-04","value":1534641},{"date":"2020-05","value":1472089},{"date":"2020-06","value":1534078.65},{"date":"2020-07","value":1757739.85},{"date":"2020-08","value":2014248.85},{"date":"2020-09","value":2014056.75},{"date":"2020-10","value":2110169.2},{"date":"2020-11","value":2001248},{"date":"2020-12","value":2006161.25},{"date":"2021-01","value":1945220.65},{"date":"2021-02","value":1776389.5},{"date":"2021-03","value":2156482.25},{"date":"2021-04","value":2046894.6},{"date":"2021-05","value":2222645.2},{"date":"2021-06","value":2044292.25},{"date":"2021-07","value":2094103.85},{"date":"2021-08","value":2162512},{"date":"2021-09","value":2041132.5},{"date":"2021-10","value":2114757},{"date":"2021-11","value":2015098},{"date":"2021-12","value":1975536},{"date":"2022-01","value":2065644},{"date":"2022-02","value":2020505},{"date":"2022-03","value":2230919},{"date":"2022-04","value":2149794},{"date":"2022-05","value":2288306},{"date":"2022-06","value":2128541},{"date":"2022-07","value":2088877},{"date":"2022-08","value":2152438},{"date":"2022-09","value":1934924},{"date":"2022-10","value":1898248},{"date":"2022-11","value":1677800.8},{"date":"2022-12","value":1631778},{"date":"2023-01","value":1708697.75},{"date":"2023-02","value":1462592.2},{"date":"2023-03","value":1526042.45},{"date":"2023-04","value":1662453.25},{"date":"2023-05","value":1828085.7},{"date":"2023-06","value":1740549.75},{"date":"2023-07","value":1819967.3},{"date":"2023-08","value":1853907},{"date":"2023-09","value":1933095},{"date":"2023-10","value":1953875},{"date":"2023-11","value":1798291},{"date":"2023-12","value":1773066},{"date":"2024-01","value":1864924},{"date":"2024-02","value":1850341},{"date":"2024-03","value":1829481},{"date":"2024-04","value":1916020},{"date":"2024-05","value":1928779.7},{"date":"2024-06","value":2087752},{"date":"2024-07","value":2213226.9},{"date":"2024-08","value":2214563.7},{"date":"2024-09","value":2168038.05},{"date":"2024-10","value":2142535.25},{"date":"2024-11","value":2050511.7},{"date":"2024-12","value":2025324.5},{"date":"2025-01","value":2120982.25},{"date":"2025-02","value":1927533.25},{"date":"2025-03","value":2031647.5},{"date":"2025-04","value":2099345},{"date":"2025-05","value":1845495},{"date":"2025-06","value":1871654},{"date":"2025-07","value":2283487.8},{"date":"2025-08","value":2218522.25},{"date":"2025-09","value":2014683.75},{"date":"2025-10","value":1971178.75},{"date":"2025-11","value":1932848},{"date":"2025-12","value":1903406.75},{"date":"2026-01","value":2009348.75},{"date":"2026-02","value":1805697.25},{"date":"2026-03","value":2052854.5},{"date":"2026-04","value":1938130.25},{"date":"2026-05","value":2138421.25},{"date":"2026-06","value":2128147.5},{"date":"2026-07","value":2195014.5},{"date":"2026-08","value":2199548.5},{"date":"2026-09","value":2276935.6}]}],"tables":[{"caption":null,"columns":["Port","Loaded imports, YTD 2026 (TEU)","vs YTD 2025","Latest month (September 2026)","Empty share (latest)"],"rows":[["Los Angeles","4,221,440","+4.1%","545,696","35.5%"],["Long Beach","3,780,952","+5.5%","509,390","38.7%"],["New York/New Jersey","3,419,429","-0.4%","393,828","34.8%"],["Savannah","2,190,666","+2.7%","252,797","28.9%"],["Houston","1,561,680","+6.1%","174,189","15.5%"],["Virginia","1,197,992","+3.9%","119,353","21.0%"],["Charleston","874,594","-8.2%","97,384","26.5%"],["Seattle/Tacoma","791,168","-12.2%","101,324","21.3%"],["Oakland","706,177","-3.1%","82,975","15.6%"],["All 9 tracked ports","18,744,098","+1.8%","2,276,936","—"]]},{"caption":"Port of Los Angeles: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","545,696 TEU","+9.1%","+18.6%","+35.6%"],["Loaded exports","125,751 TEU","+8.8%","+9.6%","-3.8%"],["Empty containers","369,718 TEU","+8.8%","+20.0%","+57.7%"]]},{"caption":"Port of Long Beach: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","509,390 TEU","+11.7%","+31.3%","+43.5%"],["Loaded exports","91,747 TEU","-8.0%","+7.8%","-25.5%"],["Empty containers","380,299 TEU","+9.7%","+23.1%","+69.6%"]]},{"caption":"Port of New York/New Jersey: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","393,828 TEU","-2.5%","+8.3%","+24.7%"],["Loaded exports","109,661 TEU","-7.4%","-9.2%","-5.7%"],["Empty containers","269,101 TEU","+1.3%","+5.8%","+40.8%"]]},{"caption":"Port of Savannah: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","252,797 TEU","-4.9%","+5.5%","+37.8%"],["Loaded exports","102,599 TEU","-12.5%","-11.3%","-5.0%"],["Empty containers","144,309 TEU","+3.9%","+13.2%","+107.1%"]]},{"caption":"Port of Houston: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","174,189 TEU","-1.0%","+15.7%","+63.9%"],["Loaded exports","132,009 TEU","-3.0%","+2.3%","+29.0%"],["Empty containers","55,963 TEU","+15.3%","+30.8%","+169.4%"]]},{"caption":"Port of Virginia: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","119,353 TEU","-16.8%","-7.2%","+4.1%"],["Loaded exports","72,115 TEU","-17.0%","-12.8%","+0.8%"],["Empty containers","50,870 TEU","-0.4%","+2.1%","-3.6%"]]},{"caption":"Port of Charleston: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","97,384 TEU","-3.1%","-4.9%","+8.1%"],["Loaded exports","49,559 TEU","-3.1%","+2.2%","-19.4%"],["Empty containers","53,050 TEU","+7.4%","-12.7%","+34.6%"]]},{"caption":"Port of Seattle/Tacoma: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","101,324 TEU","+21.5%","-4.3%","-22.9%"],["Loaded exports","51,155 TEU","+24.2%","-9.6%","-37.7%"],["Empty containers","41,276 TEU","+4.1%","-20.9%","-26.7%"]]},{"caption":"Port of Oakland: container volume by stream","columns":["Stream","Latest (September 2026)","MoM","YoY","vs 2019"],"rows":[["Loaded imports","82,975 TEU","+18.7%","+9.6%","-2.3%"],["Loaded exports","63,299 TEU","+2.5%","+5.3%","-12.2%"],["Empty containers","26,999 TEU","-1.5%","-15.3%","-27.7%"]],"footnote":"MoM compares each stream with the month before, YoY with the same month a year earlier, and vs 2019 with the same month of 2019, before the pandemic. Loaded imports are the import-demand read; empties are boxes repositioned with no cargo in them."}]}