When it comes down to sheer tonnage of material being shipped throughout the world, U.S. seaports send off and receive a truly staggering amount of goods. Seaports are a major part of the logistics industry that makes what we do at Louisville Switching possible. You can read more about over the road freight on the blog. Seaports along the Gulf Coast are the most popular, but a few eastern and western ports do rank among the top 10 busiest ports in the United States. Check out the top 10 seaports in the U.S. below.

Gulf Coast Ports

Two ports in the Gulf of Mexico receive a highly disproportionate share of the country's water traffic, as ranked by the number of tons of material passing through each year; several others also ranked in the nation's top 10 based on 2013 data:

• The Port of South Louisiana ranks in at #1 with over 238 million tons of goods coming and going throughout the year.
• The Port of Houston, Texas holds the #2 spot with greater than 229 million tons.
• The Port of Beaumont, Texas moved more than 94 million tons of material in 2013, giving it the #4 ranking.
• The Port of New Orleans, Louisiana places at #7 and sends and receives >77 million tons of goods annually.
• The Port of Corpus Christi, Texas falls just behind New Orleans at #8 with 76 million tons per year.
• The Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the final Gulf Coast port to rank in the nation's top 10, taking the #9 spot with nearly 64 million tons.

Ports Along the Eastern Seaboard

The East Coast does see a fairly high volume of seaport traffic yet far less than the Gulf. Still, the country's third busiest port lies along the east, and one more falls within the top 10:

• The Port of New York and New Jersey/Port Newark moved more than 123 million tons of goods in 2013, giving it the #3spot in the nation.
• Hampton Roads, Virginia ranked #6 with nearly 79 million tons leaving and arriving over the year.

West Coast Ports

Two ports in California rank among the nation's top ten, while others in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska remain valuable yet move far less material each year. For the purpose of brevity, we'll stick to Western ports in the top 10:

• The Port of Long Beach, California took the #5 spot in 2013 having moved 84.5 million tons of goods.
• The Port of Los Angeles, California completes the list at #10 with nearly 58 million tons sent and received over a year's time.

Industries of All Types Benefit From Port Traffic

Nearly any and every type of good you can imagine passes through each of the above ports over a year's time, aiding virtually every industry throughout the country and the world in one way or another. Generally speaking, the majority of port traffic is related to foreign exports and imports, although a few select ports in the top ten deal more in the domestic market. The majority of goods are shipped in containers.

Our yard trucks play a vital role in getting all of these goods from the sea ports to your business. Louisville Switching is here to help meet your transportation needs, and would love to hear from you. If you have any questions about yard truck parts, renting, leasing, refurbishing or service you can contact us here! If you have found this information to be useful or enjoyable, feel free to leave us a comment below.