Imports at the Port of Los Angeles are expected to plunge in the next two weeks, even as negotiations over the final tariffs that China and other countries must pay are ostensibly still being negotiated by the Yam Man. Via the LATimes:
That was the sobering message that port Executive Director Gene Seroka had Thursday for the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners during an update on port activity.
“It’s my prediction that in two weeks’ time, arrivals will drop by 35% as essentially all shipments out of China for major retailers and manufacturers have ceased, and cargo coming out of Southeast Asia locations is much softer than normal,” Seroka told the board.
[…] The decline will continue the following week, when 16 vessels are supposed to arrive carrying 74,925 TEUs, down nearly 33% from last year, according to Wabtec.
I don’t know about you, but I’m stockpiling whatever I can still get my hands on:
And even though Trump on April 9 announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs many nations may have to pay, Seroka said, “that’s not a lot of lead time for the industry to make decisions on procurement, manufacturing, locations or sourcing.”
“Many major retailers have told us they’ve got about a six-to-eight-week supply of inventory in their systems now that will quickly dry up,” he said. “United States consumers and manufacturers alike will find difficult decisions in the weeks and months to come if policies don’t change.”
