Port of Long Beach Logistics

Port of Long Beach logistics, handled locally

Port of Long Beach logistics covers everything that happens to an import container after it leaves the ship: terminal release, drayage, customs-bonded movement or storage, unloading, consolidation or transloading, warehousing and the final truck move. The Port of Long Beach handled a record of roughly 9.9 million TEUs in 2025, and together with the Port of Los Angeles it forms the San Pedro Bay port complex, which moved more than 20 million TEUs that year.

We are a Long Beach logistics company. Our warehousing, container freight station, transloading, cross-docking and container storage operations sit in Long Beach, close to the terminals. A container can come off the terminal on our chassis, be worked at our operation and leave as domestic freight without crossing the region first or changing hands between providers.

This page explains how the port is laid out for trucking, which charges and rules shape a Long Beach move, how a typical import runs with us, and where each of our Long Beach services fits.

Port of Long Beach services

Each service below can be booked on its own or combined into one move from the terminal to final destination. Every page explains how that service runs at the Port of Long Beach specifically.

How the Port of Long Beach is laid out for trucks

The Port of Long Beach is run by the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach under a five-member Board of Harbor Commissioners, and it has about 25 miles of waterfront. Its container terminals are spread across numbered piers on the mainland side of the harbor and on the eastern half of Terminal Island, an artificial island the port shares with the Port of Los Angeles.

For trucks, the key link is the Long Beach International Gateway bridge, which opened to traffic in October 2020 and replaced the 1968 Gerald Desmond Bridge. It carries the southern end of I-710 across the Back Channel between Terminal Island and the mainland, with 205 feet of vertical clearance for the largest container ships. From there, the I-710 Long Beach Freeway runs north past the I-405, SR-91 and I-105 interchanges toward the warehouse districts of the South Bay, the Gateway Cities and east Los Angeles.

Two practical consequences follow. First, most Long Beach port logistics traffic funnels through a handful of bridges and freeway ramps, so congestion near the harbor affects every move that starts there. Second, a container worked in Long Beach travels only a few miles before it is empty, while the same container sent to a distant warehouse spends hours on regional freeways while still on the ocean carrier's clock.

Which Long Beach service fits your container

Most importers' situations fall into one of these patterns. The right column points to the Long Beach page that covers it in detail.

How a Port of Long Beach import moves with us

This is the sequence for a typical full-container import. Bonded and CFS shipments add steps, which their own pages cover.

1. 01
   Pre-arrival planning

   Before the vessel arrives we confirm the container number, size, weight, commodity and final destination, and whether the freight will be entered by your customs broker or moved in bond. Heavy loads are matched to triaxle chassis at this stage.

2. 02
   Release check

   After discharge we confirm the container is available and clear of customs, freight and terminal holds, and we note the last free day. Dispatching a truck to a container with a hold wastes a terminal appointment and a turn.

3. 03
   Terminal appointment and pickup

   We book the terminal appointment and pull the container on our own 20-foot, 40-foot or triaxle chassis, so the move does not wait on pool chassis availability.

4. 04
   Customs path

   Cleared freight goes straight to its next step. Freight that has not been entered moves under our bonded carrier authority, and can be held in our customs-bonded warehouse until it is entered, exported or transferred.

5. 05
   Handling in Long Beach

   Depending on the plan, the container is devanned, sorted, palletized or relabeled, consolidated or deconsolidated at our CFS, transloaded into domestic trailers, cross-docked, or received into storage with barcoding and inventory tracking.

6. 06
   Empty return

   Because the container is emptied near the port, we can return it quickly to the terminal or depot the ocean carrier designates, which limits per diem.

7. 07
   Final delivery

   Freight goes out by local delivery in Southern California, or by full truckload or LTL to destinations across the U.S., with cross-border service to Canada and Mexico. You receive shipment status updates throughout.

Charges and rules that shape Long Beach moves

Most surprise costs at the port come from a short list of charges and rules. Knowing who sets each one, and when it starts, is the basis of planning any Port of Long Beach logistics move.

Example: what working containers near the port saves

Example, using hypothetical round numbers: an importer has six 40-foot containers discharged on Monday with a last free day of Thursday. The receiving warehouse in the Inland Empire can take only two containers a day starting Thursday. If demurrage were $150 per container per day, leaving four containers at the terminal into the following week could cost $2,400 or more in demurrage before per diem is counted.

Two common fixes change that math. Pre-pulling all six to a container storage yard before Thursday stops demurrage, at the cost of storage and an extra short move. Transloading all six in Long Beach returns the empties within days and lets the freight travel inland in 53-foot trailers, which hold more cube than a 40-foot container and are not on the ocean carrier's clock. Which option is cheaper depends on the freight, the warehouse schedule and the carrier's free time, which is why we price them side by side.

Why a Long Beach-based logistics partner matters

Port of Long Beach services are offered by providers all over Southern California. For port logistics, Long Beach is the right base, and being here changes a few things that show up on your invoice.

• Fewer container miles: freight is handled a short distance from the terminals instead of after a long haul inland, so containers are emptied and returned sooner.
• Bonded options in one place: bonded carrier authority and a CBP customs-bonded warehouse let in-bond freight stay with one team. See in-bond shipments for how that process works.
• Our own chassis: 20-foot, 40-foot and triaxle chassis reduce delays when pool equipment is short.
• Both ports from one base: the same team and operation serve the Port of Los Angeles, so a carrier switching terminals does not change your process.
• One point of contact from terminal release to final delivery, with warehouse management, barcoding and shipment status updates.

Common Long Beach port logistics mistakes

• Booking trucks before checking holds: a customs exam, freight hold or unpaid terminal charge stops the pickup and burns the appointment.
• Counting free time from the wrong date: free time usually runs from discharge or availability, not from when the importer learns the container has landed.
• Sending every container on a long dray by default: for multi-destination freight, transloading near the port is often cheaper than drayage to a distant warehouse.
• Leaving the customs path undecided: if entry will not be ready, arranging bonded drayage early avoids demurrage while paperwork catches up.
• Ignoring empty return: a container delivered on time can still run up per diem if the empty sits at the warehouse.

Frequently asked questions