Ports on the East Coast are now busier than those on the West Coast, according to Marcus & Millichap, one of the nation's top commercial real estate brokers. 

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach unloaded 1 million fewer containers in 2022 than they did in 2021. Meanwhile, the ports of New York and New Jersey handled half a million excess containers, surpassing Southern California's capacity for the first time in decades. 

Marcus & Millichap noted that long-running negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have raised shippers' concerns about West Coast port closures. 

The East Coast ports of Savannah and Charleston also saw record volumes of imported cargo in 2022. Given the growing volume of imports, the ports are in the midst of a $410 million expansion project to increase their cargo capacity by more than 50 percent by 2025. 

Twenty years ago, about 80 percent of trans-Pacific cargo entered the United States through ports on the West Coast, according to the report. Now that share is down to 56 percent, as East Coast ports continue to expand. 

Marcus & Millichap believes China's growing practice of "nearshore" manufacturing in Latin American countries to reduce shipping costs to the United States could continue to affect the future development of East Coast ports. 

The report from Marcus & Millichap also shows that third-party logistics companies that receive and transport retail cargoes have been competing for available industrial space near East Coast maritime hubs. On the other hand, existing property owners may opt to redevelop and build multi-storey warehouses amid growing demand.