Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for per-packet load balancing in a port channel. The system first maps an incoming traffic flow to queues containing packets to be transmitted through a port channel at the system, the port channel including ports grouped into a single virtual port. Next, the system assigns a port from the port channel to a queue for a predetermined period of time, wherein the port is assigned to the queue based on at least one of a port state and a service history associated with the queue. The system then de-queues at least a portion of the packets in the queue through the port for the predetermined period of time. This load balancing can ensure that traffic is efficiently and fairly load balanced across the links of the port channel, and packets of each queue are not reordered.