The United States, as the world’s largest economy, shows the image of a nation that is deeply involved in global trade, with constantly moving containers, carrying goods to and from every corner of the world.
ERRRRR, but hold .. If the statistics are a sign, there are more “The goods that arrive” To “Goods that go out” In US ports. In 2024, the top 10 ports of the United States with 35.7 million TEUs were displaced by the 224 million TEU run by the top 8 China.
Based on data, trade flow is decisively one -way, not balanced .. While the unbalanced of your business is not new, an emerging image shows in US ports How deep is incorporated This imbalance has been structurally, geographically, and operational.
From high -speed Los Angeles and Long Beach import centers, to the unpleasant export champions of Houston and Savannah, the real narrative is not which port is the busiest port, how different the work of each person is.
The true narrative is inequality
The United States is far greater than export, and since May 2025, the deficit of goods and services has increased by 50.4 % compared to the same period 2024, according to the US Economic Analysis Office (BEA) ..
Its ports also reflect this. Between 2005 and 2025
- Los Angeles issued only 38 containers for every 100 entered
- Long Beach just did a little better and on average 40
- New York – about 34 years
- At the same time, Houston, remote, in the early years, continuously above 100 % with an average of 117 % for the above period and 82 % of the export ratio in 2025 (5 months), making it one of the most balanced ports in the country.
For the first 5 months of the year 2025 was below the percentage of exports compared to imports
Not all ports are created for both directions
So, if you surprise what’s going on here, nothing really … simply do the ports do what they are built for, but the balance is not in the interest of export.
“The dynamics of the port in the United States depends on what moves through them. Industrial centers such as Houston flourish in overseas cargoes of resins and chemicals, while gates such as Los Angeles and Long Beach are flooded and emptied the dishes to chase the next large burden. All this is about what the region produces, and how fast the global supply chain is. “
– Says Noushin Shamsili, CEO and President of Nuco Logistics, a valid transportation and customs clearance specialist in the field of chemicals, dangerous and pharmaceutical goods ..
This quote completely surround the West Coast Model. Why:
- Because there is insufficient exports from the United States of America and especially through the West Coast ports
- Because the shipping lines are pressurized to quickly empty Asia
- Because the United States is a net importer of final goods, electronics, furniture, textiles and toys
- And since agricultural exports from the West have declined steadily due
PMSA confirms the mastery of the West
However, it seems that the dominance of the West Coast is declining according to the Business Report of the Pacific Ocean Transportation Association (PMSA)
- The export loaded on the West Coast has dropped by 16 % compared to last year
- Long Beach exports declined from June 2024 to June 2025 22.7 %
- And the share of the US Coast’s import volume has dropped to 41.4 %, which is reduced to 50 % in 2019
“In the first five months of the year 2025 was the export of the West Coast to China 35.6 % lower From the same period in 2022.“
– PMSA blog, July 2025
In other words, even when the United States once had strong overseas lines, these currents are fading, and dishes are increasingly empty.
According to the latest PMSA analysis, the West Coast ports are not only seeing overseas volumes, but they are also losing themselves at the entrance streams.
After returning the share in the Red Sea crisis and the uncertainty of the East Coast labor force in 2024, the USWC share of the total US entry container fell from 39.3 % in January to 31.8 % in May 2025, one of the lowest levels has been recorded.
Even imports from East Asia, a historic stronghold, declined sharply, and the first share of the tonnage fell below 50 % for the first time since early 2023.
While the stability of the labor force on the east coast and the Persian Gulf, transport continues to variety of routes, using reliability and resistance to heritage routes. This change adds another layer to the evolving story in the port and the poor west coast mastery in the US container trade.
So where does US exports go. ??
They are not returning through LA or Long Beach, certainly .. They go through Houston, Savannah, Auckland, Charleston and Norfolk, the ports, though smaller, are close to where US goods are actually made, and are able to achieve them:
“Ports like Auckland and Savannah not only for what they export – agriculture, paper, poultry – but because they are not overlooked. With less density and more space, carriers are more likely to load overseas shipments rather than sending back containers.“
– Noshin Shamsili, Nuco Procurement
Houston’s secret weapon is its industrial base. This is the closest main port to the petrochemical triangle and does not have too much trouble with the input cargoes. This time has places and containers to fill.
As well:
- Savannah serves poultry, cotton and forest from southeast
- Okand controls almonds, wine and California citrus fruits
- Charleston and Norfolk export car, machinery and agricultural products efficiently because they are less congested and more aware of exports
The difference is not just in volume but in purpose
US ports have evolved to serve different roles in the broader trade ecosystem.
- The West Coast is designed for speed and scale and transmits the large volume of imports from Asia.
- The Gulf Coast has become an industrial export engine and uses petrochemicals, resins and raw materials from the US production belt.
- The East Coast, increasingly, is a little bit of both both, thanks to targeted investment, internal connection and a more balanced combination of business.
As a result, exporters simply do not ship the goods through the same ports as the containers enter. They move cargoes through ports that are more suitable to handle it, often moving to production centers, with less congestion and more flexible overseas capacity.
“These ports are not in the volume of imports, so their export share seems more. And carriers are more likely to load exports instead of sending blanks out,“Explains Shamsili ..
Although this type of expertise exists, concerns lies in the fact that the volume of US container exports is declining, and this indicates a deeper imbalance.
This highlights the increasing confidence in foreign goods and production, while the less US -made goods are flowing out.
In short, the United States is far more dependent than in other countries than it seems to depend on it, the dynamics that go beyond the ports and speaks of the whole economy structure.
Do new tariffs reduce the West Coast ??
By examining Section 301, tariffs that target the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors of China can be reset on the commercial routes:
- Reduction of Chinese imports may mean less containers in the west coast ports
- Exporters may see a new opening in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia
- Ports like Houston, Savannah and Charleston are the best position to answer
But unless targeted investment in:
- Infrastructure of the export phase
- International railway to port corridors
- Better carrier incentives to load off -the -clock cargoes
… This new opportunity can destroy the cracks like many dishes that are empty.
Final thought: The system is not broken, dangerously unbalanced
If there is a ready -made meal of PMSA data and port statistics, this is:
American ports work exactly as they are made, but the problem is that they are not built to support balanced trade.
“Until what we do with where we carry, the imbalance will continue.“
– Noshin Shamsili, Nuco Procurement
So, yes, the United States is a world trade giant.
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