MileCFO
+1 (984) 789-5979 Free audit

Carrier data

Port Import Inflow: Where Freight Arrives and Where It Is Growing

Chicago leads U.S. ports in import value at $317.9B, yet Los Angeles has the most containerized weight at 42,587 thousand tonnes. Which ports grew, and what a small fleet can do with it.

5 min read

Horizontal bars of import value for five large ports: Chicago $317.9B, Laredo $259.1B, Los Angeles $250.5B, Newark $197.2B and Los Angeles International Airport $134.2BChicagoLaredoLos AngelesNewarkLAX airport$317.9B$259.1B$250.5B$197.2B$134.2BImport value, 12 months to Aug 2026 (Census)

Why this matters. Chicago is the largest U.S. import port by value, at $317.9B over the last 12 months. It also moved 106 thousand tonnes in containers. Los Angeles took in $250.5B and 42,587 thousand tonnes. A carrier paid per load follows weight and loads, not dollars, so the ranking that matters depends on the truck you run.

What the data does and does not say

Census counts imports at the port of entry, not the final destination. Weight is reported for vessel and air shipments only, so land ports show value alone. The share that leaves a port by truck is not in the data, so every truckload figure rests on a share you enter. Source: Census Bureau international trade API, retrieved Oct 10, 2026, last 12 months Sep 2025 to Aug 2026.

The biggest ports by value

The 30 largest ports took 78.7% of U.S. import value in the last 12 months. All ports together are +1.6% against the 12 months before, and 10 of the 30 grew 10% or more. Here are eight of them.

Eight large U.S. ports by import value, last 12 months
PortImport valueShare of U.S.Value change
Chicago, IL$317.9B9.1%+0.5%
Laredo, TX$259.1B7.4%+16.8%
Los Angeles, CA$250.5B7.1%-14.9%
Newark, NJ$197.2B5.6%-7.7%
New Orleans, LA$92.2B2.6%+19.5%
Savannah, GA$89.2B2.5%-4.9%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX$85.2B2.4%+113.5%
Houston, TX$81.4B2.3%-7.4%

Source: Census international trade API, general imports value, change versus the 12 months before. Dallas-Fort Worth is the fastest-growing port among the 20 largest by value.

Growth in value is a pointer, not a lane. Among the large ports, JFK International Airport moved -46.7% and Dallas-Fort Worth +113.5%, and the data does not say which lanes sit behind either number.

When value and weight disagree

A container of electronics and one of furniture can weigh the same and differ many times in value. For drayage and port-adjacent work, containerized weight is closer to loads.

Value change against containerized weight change, seaports
PortValue changeContainerized weight, 12 monthsWeight change
Los Angeles, CA-14.9%42,587 kt-5.6%
Newark, NJ-7.7%31,463 kt-5.4%
Savannah, GA-4.9%19,750 kt+1.2%
Houston, TX-7.4%17,633 kt-0.5%
Norfolk-Newport News, VA+1.9%11,956 kt+4.5%
Charleston, SC-6.5%10,338 kt+1.1%
New Orleans, LA+19.5%3,042 kt+15.3%

kt = thousand tonnes. Source: Census international trade API, same 12 months. Containerized weight is vessel weight in containers.

Savannah and Charleston lost value but gained weight. A port can fall in dollars while the boxes get heavier, or the reverse. In this table only New Orleans grew on both measures by double digits.

From tonnes to truckloads

The page's calculator divides a port's average monthly weight by your payload, after the share you assume leaves by truck. Here it is for four seaports on invented inputs: 60% by truck, 18 tonnes a load, 22 working days a month.

Example data: truckloads a working day from containerized weight
PortAverage month, containerizedLoads a month, 60% by truckLoads a working day
Los Angeles, CA3,549 kt118,2975,377
Savannah, GA1,646 kt54,8612,494
Norfolk-Newport News, VA996 kt33,2111,510
Charleston, SC862 kt28,7171,305

The 60% and 18 tonnes are the page's pre-filled example values, not measurements. Average month = 12-month weight / 12. Loads = weight x 60% / 18 tonnes.

Now put a fleet next to it. Ten trucks at 5 loads a week make about 9.8 loads a working day (10 x 5 x 52 / 12 / 22). Against Savannah's 2,494, that is 0.39% of the flow. The number shows why a small fleet chases a lane, a customer or a warehouse, and not a port.

Land ports: value up, trucks flat

Land ports carry value but no weight in the Census table. The BTS border data on the seasonality planner counts the trucks that cross, for the same 12 months. Put the two together and the picture changes.

Import value change against truck crossing change, same 12 months
Land portImport value change (Census)Truck crossings change (BTS)
Laredo, TX+16.8%+0.1%
Ysleta, TX+42.6%-0.6%
Santa Teresa, NM+40.1%+16.0%
Eagle Pass, TX+8.3%-4.5%

Sources: Census international trade API and BTS Border Crossing/Entry Data, both Sep 2025 to Aug 2026 against the 12 months before. Different datasets, so read the gap as a question and not a finding.

Value grew faster than the truck count at all four. The data does not say why: it could be higher prices, a different mix of goods or fuller trucks. For a carrier the useful reading is that a rising dollar figure at a land port does not mean more loads.

How a small fleet can use it

  • Follow weight, not only value. Trucks are paid on loads.
  • Treat 10% growth as a reason to call. A port that grows 10% or more is worth a call to its drayage and warehouse contacts.
  • Remember the entry port is not the destination. Cargo can go inland by rail or sit in a warehouse for weeks before a truck sees it.
  • Price the empty leg. A port run often ends away from the next load. See the deadhead calculator.
  • Re-check each quarter. Volumes swing with tariffs, carrier schedules and weather.

Common questions

  • Is the truckload figure a forecast? No. It is a sizing aid built on the share you assume.
  • Why no weight for land ports? Laredo and Ysleta have a value but no weight in this table.

The port import inflow page ranks the 30 largest ports and lets you pick a port and enter your own payload and share. To see which of your own lanes earned what you billed, send us your last 20 loads.

Related guides and tools