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# Busiest US container ports by import volume

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

_Data through Jun 2026 · source last checked Sep 1, 2026 · page revised Aug 18, 2026_

> Los Angeles is the busiest tracked US container port by loaded imports, 2,675,892 TEU over the first 6 months of 2026. Across all 9 tracked ports, loaded imports are 12,072,600 TEU year to date, up 1.5% versus the same months of 2025. This ranks import DEMAND (loaded inbound boxes); it is not a congestion reading.

Loaded imports across the nine tracked US container ports ran 12.1 million TEU year to date through June, up 1.5% versus the same period in 2025. Los Angeles led the complex with 2.7 million TEU, up 5.0% year to date. Houston and Virginia gained 6.8% and 5.6%. Seattle/Tacoma and Charleston fell 13.9% and 8.8% year to date.

## The numbers

| Port | Loaded imports, YTD 2026 (TEU) | vs YTD 2025 | Latest month (June 2026) | Empty share (latest) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Los Angeles | 2,675,892 | +5.0% | 530,558 | 34.5% |
| Long Beach | 2,348,001 | +2.6% | 387,025 | 38.1% |
| New York/New Jersey | 2,229,447 | -0.2% | 388,842 | 34.4% |
| Savannah | 1,420,122 | +2.1% | 240,445 | 26.2% |
| Houston | 1,029,667 | +6.8% | 177,097 | 17.2% |
| Virginia | 797,611 | +5.6% | 134,859 | 19.0% |
| Charleston | 577,901 | -8.8% | 96,849 | 24.4% |
| Seattle/Tacoma | 520,095 | -13.9% | 94,359 | 22.1% |
| Oakland | 473,864 | -1.0% | 78,114 | 15.8% |
| All 9 tracked ports | 12,072,600 | +1.5% | 2,128,148 | — |

## About Busiest US container ports by import volume

This page ranks the US container ports The Dwell tracks by their loaded-import volume in TEU, twenty-foot equivalent units. Loaded imports are the inbound boxes with cargo in them, the import-demand read a US importer watches, so the ranking is by demand, not by congestion: a busy port is not necessarily a backed-up one, and this page carries no dwell or queue reading. Year-to-date figures cover the first 6 months of 2026 against the same months of 2025, so the comparison is like-for-like; the latest-month column is June 2026, the freshest month the port authorities have published through BTS, which lands a few weeks after the month closes. The empty-container share column is a preview of the trade-imbalance read broken out on the empty-container-share page. The numbers are the port authorities' own container statistics, republished by BTS, and every port total here reconciles with that port's own container-volume page. See each port in detail: [Los Angeles](/teu/los-angeles), [Long Beach](/teu/long-beach), [New York/New Jersey](/teu/new-york-new-jersey), [Savannah](/teu/savannah), [Houston](/teu/houston), [Virginia](/teu/virginia), [Charleston](/teu/charleston), [Seattle/Tacoma](/teu/seattle-tacoma), [Oakland](/teu/oakland).

## About this data

- Source: Port authority monthly container statistics, republished by BTS
- Series: Loaded-import TEU by port, ranked; year-to-date and latest month
- Basis: Import-demand ranking, not a congestion reading
- Geography: The tracked US container ports
- Unit: TEU
- Calculation period: Monthly, year-to-date vs the same months a year earlier
- Last observation: Jun 2026
- Update frequency: Monthly

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Cite: Busiest US container ports by loaded imports as of Jun 2026: Los Angeles leads at 2,675,892 TEU YTD 2026 (monthly TEU from the port authorities, via BTS; The Dwell). The Dwell. https://the-dwell.com/busiest/us-container-ports
Canonical URL: https://the-dwell.com/busiest/us-container-ports