The Port of Los Angeles replaced Laredo, Texas, as the No. 1 U.S. trade gateway in July among the nation’s 450 airports, seaports and border crossings, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by WorldCity.
It was the first time in 15 months that an international gateway other than Laredo was the country’s top-ranked commercial trade port.
Trade at the Port of LA for July increased 24% year over year to $30 billion. Laredo ranked No. 2 at $28.3 billion, followed by Chicago O’Hare International Airport at $24.4 billion.
Trade through Laredo during July increased 9% year over year from the same month in 2023, while trade was up 16% year over year at Chicago O’Hare.
The Port of Los Angeles has been buoyed by an increase in imports of containers from China the past several months.
According to the FreightWaves SONAR Inbound Ocean TEUs Volume Index (IOTI.CHNUSA), import volume to the U.S. from China was up in August over the same period in 2022 and 2023.
Related: State of Freight for August: Freight benchmarks show positive signs
Mexico remained the top U.S. trade partner in July at $70.7 billion in commerce, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau.
Mexico’s trade with the U.S. in the month increased 8% year over year. It was the seventh consecutive month and 17th of the past 18 months that Mexico has been No. 1 in trade with the U.S.
Canada ranked No. 2 for trade with the U.S. in July at $63.5 billion, while China came in third at $51.5 billion.
The top three exports from Mexico to the U.S. during the month were computers ($4 billion) passenger vehicles ($3.96 billion) and commercial vehicles ($3.1 billion), according to Census Bureau data.
Top imports from the U.S. to Mexico during July were gasoline and other fuels ($2.93 billion), auto parts ($1.49 billion) and computer parts ($1.3 million).