REAL ESTATE NEWS

It has been a tumultuous, yet resilient, past year or so for port activity in California, according to a report from Savills.

Los Angeles handled 10.2 million TEUs in calendar year 2025, a slight decline from 2024, yet it was still one of the top three all-time years for cargo volumes. Also, this marked the 26th consecutive year the city was the top U.S. container port.

Despite the port's exposure to China, with more than 40% of import and export business tied to country-based ports, policy shifts around tariffs failed to dampen port activity.

July marked the busiest month of the year for the Port of Los Angeles, which handled one million TEUs. But it was a different story in the second half of the year, with July through December averaging just over 880,000 TEUs per month.

Given the recently released proposal for a new 200-acre container terminal at Pier 500, continued growth remains a strategic initiative.

At the Port of Long Beach, the record-breaking 2024 was followed by another set in 2025. Last year, the city saw 9.9 million TEUs, a 2.4% year-over-year increase.

The port's success in 2025 was not without volatility, however, as it averaged approximately 820,000 TEUs per month but saw volumes notably dip below the monthly average in May and June following early-April tariff policy changes.

The port is expected to continue its success, having recently invested in the container business. Most notably, the recently started $365 million Pier G – ITS slip fill redevelopment is expected to create additional acreage at Terminal G and enable service to the largest cargo vessels.

What stood out most in the data for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to Mark Russo, vice President and head of industrial research at Savills, was their effective navigation of shifting trade policy and significant volatility throughout the year.

"When tariff news broke in April, the outlook turned sharply negative," Russo told GlobeSt.com.

The Port of Long Beach projected a 10% decline in imports from April to May and warned volumes could fall as much as 20% in the second half of the year. Both ports posted their weakest month in May, with cargo volumes down 14% in Los Angeles and 26% in Long Beach, ranking them among the highest readings on the Savills Import Volatility Index.

"What proved most impressive, however, was the speed and magnitude of the rebound," Chris Bauers, industrial research manager at Savills, told GlobeSt.com.

Following the May slowdown, volumes surged and both ports ultimately closed 2025 with their busiest years on record, handling more than 20 million TEUs combined.

"Despite elevated volumes and volatility, neither port experienced meaningful congestion nor extended vessel wait times, a sharp contrast to prior periods of disruption," Bauers said.

At the Oakland port in 2025, year-over-year TEU volumes were unchanged, remaining at 2.3 million. Container capacity growth has not been the story at the Port of Oakland, as volumes since 2015 have remained largely stagnant, Savills reported.

The most significant single infrastructure project in the city is a proposal to widen the existing turning basins of the inner and outer harbors to accommodate vessels with a capacity of 19,000 TEUs. Occupiers there, however, have been seeking alternative or diversified port options because the port is one of the more expensive real estate markets among its peers, Savills reported.

Combined with a relatively expensive and tight labor market that falls short of the national benchmark, as well as conservative infrastructure investment, Oakland does not appear to be in volume-growth mode.

Source: GlobeSt/ALM