Port of Los Angeles Logistics

Port of Los Angeles logistics from across the harbor

Port of Los Angeles logistics starts with scale: the port handled more than 10.2 million TEUs in 2025, and the port reports that it ranked as the No. 1 U.S. container port for 25 consecutive years from 2000 through 2024. Its terminals sit in the San Pedro and Wilmington districts of the City of Los Angeles and on the western half of Terminal Island, which it shares with the Port of Long Beach.

We serve the Port of Los Angeles from our operation in Long Beach, across the harbor. We do not run a separate facility in San Pedro or Wilmington. Port of Los Angeles containers come to the same warehouse, container freight station and transload operation we use for Long Beach freight, handled by the same team, on our own chassis.

This page covers what is specific to LA port logistics, and to port logistics in Los Angeles generally: the geography of the Harbor District, how containers cross from Los Angeles terminals to Long Beach, when the choice between the two ports matters to an importer, and what to plan for on a Port of Los Angeles move.

Port of Los Angeles logistics services

Every service below is available for containers discharged at Port of Los Angeles terminals. Each page explains how that service works for LA containers handled from our Long Beach base.

How the Port of Los Angeles is laid out

The Port of Los Angeles covers about 7,500 acres of land and water along 43 miles of waterfront, roughly 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. It is a department of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Harbor Department, governed by a Board of Harbor Commissioners appointed by the mayor. It is a landlord port: private operators lease the terminals, and the port is funded by leases and shipping fees, not city taxes.

The port's land falls in three areas. San Pedro lines the west side of the main channel and the outer harbor. Wilmington sits to the north, around the inner harbor and its slips. Terminal Island, a largely artificial island, holds container terminals on its Los Angeles side and is split between the two cities. San Pedro and Wilmington became part of Los Angeles in 1909, which is why a city whose downtown is miles inland runs one of the world's largest seaports.

The bridges and freeways LA port trucks use

Every truck leaving a Port of Los Angeles terminal uses one of a few crossings. Which one depends on where the container was discharged and where it is going.

Serving LA terminals from Long Beach

Cross-harbor logistics is routine for us. A container discharged on Terminal Island is a short run over the Gateway bridge to Long Beach. For San Pedro container trucking, a container from a San Pedro or Wilmington terminal takes the Vincent Thomas or Heim bridge, or surface and freeway routes around the inner harbor. Either way, the run to our Long Beach operation is short compared with a haul to an inland warehouse.

That proximity is what makes Port of Los Angeles drayage from a Long Beach base practical. The things that slow an LA move are the same things that slow any port move: terminal appointment availability, holds, chassis and congestion at the gates and bridges. We manage those the same way for both ports, so importers whose ocean carriers call at both get one process.

Once an LA container reaches us, it can be devanned at our Los Angeles CFS, held in our bonded warehouse, transloaded into domestic trailers, cross-docked or received into warehousing, then sent out by local delivery or nationwide trucking.

Port of Los Angeles or Port of Long Beach: when the difference matters

Importers rarely choose the port; the ocean carrier's service and terminal contract usually decide it. The differences below are the ones worth knowing when containers land at both.

Planning a Port of Los Angeles container move

These are the steps we work through on an LA import before a truck is dispatched.

1. 01
   Identify the terminal

   The arrival notice names the discharge terminal. San Pedro, Wilmington and Terminal Island terminals each have their own gate procedures and appointment systems, and the location sets the route.

2. 02
   Confirm availability and holds

   We check that the container is discharged and free of customs, freight and terminal holds, and record the last free day.

3. 03
   Decide the customs path

   If your customs broker has the entry ready, the container moves as cleared freight. If not, it can move under an in-bond document with our bonded carrier authority. Our LA bonded drayage page covers that process.

4. 04
   Book the appointment and chassis

   We secure a terminal appointment and assign one of our own 20-foot, 40-foot or triaxle chassis based on container size and weight.

5. 05
   Cross the harbor and handle the freight

   The container comes to our Long Beach operation, or goes direct to your facility, according to the plan agreed before pickup.

6. 06
   Return the empty

   We return the empty to the terminal or depot the carrier designates, which may differ from the pickup terminal, and keep the records needed to check any per diem invoice.

Example: an importer with containers at both ports

Example, with hypothetical numbers: a furniture importer receives eight containers a month. Five land at a Port of Los Angeles terminal on Terminal Island and three at a Long Beach pier, depending on which vessel in the carrier's rotation the cargo was booked on. With separate providers for each port, the importer would track two sets of appointments, two invoices and two warehouse handoffs.

Routed through one Long Beach operation, all eight containers come to the same place, are devanned and palletized, and ship out together as full truckload or LTL freight. The port of discharge stops being a variable in the importer's planning, which is the practical benefit of a team that handles San Pedro Bay port logistics on both sides of the harbor.

Common mistakes on LA port logistics moves

• Assuming the empty goes back where it came from: carriers often designate a different terminal or depot for empty returns, which changes the route and timing.
• Treating the two ports as one tariff: port-wide programs match, but each terminal sets its own gate rules, free time and charges.
• Waiting for entry before planning the truck: if customs release may be late, setting up an in-bond move early keeps the container from sitting into demurrage.
• Sending every LA container inland as a container: for multi-destination freight, unloading near the harbor and shipping in domestic trailers is often cheaper.
• Not checking the arrival notice for the terminal: San Pedro, Wilmington and Terminal Island terminals use different routes, and the wrong assumption wastes an appointment.

Why LA importers work with us

• One team for both ports: if your containers land at Los Angeles one week and Long Beach the next, nothing changes on your side.
• Bonded options: bonded carrier authority and a CBP customs-bonded warehouse for freight that is not yet entered.
• Our own chassis: 20-foot, 40-foot and triaxle chassis, so pickups do not wait on pool equipment.
• Short drays: containers are emptied near the harbor and returned sooner, which limits demurrage and detention.
• Nationwide reach: FTL and LTL across the U.S., plus cross-border service to Canada and Mexico.

Frequently asked questions