“Faced with the hard deadline of July 24 for new permanent tariff rates, companies expedited imports through ports on the North American west coast,” said Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence, in a new analysis.

The analysis concludes that a rush to move cargo before the tariff deadline drove a sharp increase in import volumes during the second quarter.

According to Sea-Intelligence, the major ports on the North American West Coast handled 3.7 million TEU of loaded import containers during the quarter, representing year-on-year growth of 7.1%.

Total container throughput across the region reached 7.63 million TEU, up 5.2% from the same period in 2025.

The increase was concentrated in Southern California. Los Angeles recorded a 13.8% rise in loaded imports, while Long Beach grew by 12.0%. Oakland also posted growth of 5.3%.

In contrast, all major Pacific Northwest gateways reported declines, with Vancouver down 4.8%, the Northwest Seaport Alliance falling 9.2%, and Prince Rupert declining 12.4%.

Furthermore, activity strengthened markedly during May.

Total volumes increased by 12.7% year on year, while loaded imports rose 19.8%. Long Beach registered a 40.0% increase in loaded imports during the month, and Los Angeles reported growth of 26.2%.

Sea-Intelligence noted that May’s gains were supported by importers bringing shipments forward ahead of the July deadline and by comparison with a weaker May 2025 baseline, when tariff-related developments also affected cargo volumes.

The concentration of inbound cargo led to increased empty container repositioning.

During the quarter, West Coast ports evacuated 62.1 empty containers for every 100 loaded imports received, while the empty-to-loaded export ratio at Los Angeles and Long Beach reached 2.68.

Despite these conditions, loaded exports from West Coast ports increased by 5.2% year on year to 1.27 million TEU.

Long Beach recorded export growth of 19.3%, Prince Rupert rose 40.3%, Vancouver increased 5.8%, and Oakland gained 3.5%.