Sea-Intelligence: Port of Los Angeles Expands Market Share Amid Gloomy West Coast Landscape

Latest analysis from Sea-Intelligence shows that in the first three quarters of 2025, the Port of Los Angeles significantly strengthened its leading position on the North American West Coast, gaining market share while neighboring and Pacific Northwest competitors experienced declining performance.

In issue 740 of its in-depth Sea-Intelligence Sunday Spotlight report, analysts delved into laden import volume throughput at major ports on the North American West Coast (NAWC) during the first three quarters of 2025. The analysis revealed a significant divergence in handling volume: while Canadian ports maintained performance levels similar to pre-pandemic benchmarks, all major ports on the US West Coast recorded lower-than-expected performance.

Amidst the region’s poor performance, the Port of Los Angeles successfully consolidated its position, capturing a larger share of the overall NAWC market.

A Distinct Divergence: Canada Stable, US Lags Behind

Specifically, Canadian ports Vancouver and Prince Rupert saw growth in Q3 2025 that was generally in line with their pre-pandemic averages from 2017-2019.

Conversely, all major ports in California and the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA, a partnership between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma) performed below historical benchmarks, with the NWSA recording the largest negative decline. This divergence directly contributed to the market share changes noted in the report.

San Pedro Bay Port Complex Consolidates Its Power

Data shows how this differential performance impacted each port’s market share in the NAWC’s total loaded container imports over the first three quarters of 2025. The figures indicate a significant consolidation of market share into the San Pedro Bay port complex. The complex’s total market share increased from 68.9% of NAWC loaded imports in Q1 2025 to 70.7% in Q3 2025.

Los Angeles: The Sole Winner

Notably, this overall increase was driven entirely by the Port of Los Angeles. The port expanded its individual market share from 35.3% in Q1 2025 to 38.0% in Q3 2025.

This increase partially offset the decline of its neighbor, the Port of Long Beach, which saw its market share fall from 33.6% in Q1 to 32.7% in Q3.

The most consistent market share loss was recorded at NWSA, decreasing quarter-on-quarter (Q/Q) from 8.9% in Q1 to 7.5% in Q3/2025. The Port of Oakland also saw a steady but smaller decline, from 6.9% in Q1 to 6.3% in Q3/2025.

Source: Phaata.com (According to Sea-Intelligence)