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The volume of exported goods entering the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest Shipping hub in the United States, dropped by 30% in early May after the implementation of import tariffs by President Donald Trump.
Gene Seroga, Director of the Port of Los Angeles Administration, revealed that the decrease in container volume has had a wide-ranging impact, affecting everything from port workers and truck drivers to warehouse employees. He stated, “The impact of the tariffs was almost immediate in the first week of May.”
Previously, businesses rushed to import goods to avoid the new tariffs, resulting in a surge of 843,000 TEUs (twenty-foot-long containers) handled at the Port of Los Angeles in April, a 9.4% year-on-year increase.
However, export trends moved in the opposite direction, with Seroga pointing out that exports declined for the fifth consecutive month in April due to retaliatory tariffs imposed by trading partners, particularly on agricultural products and manufactured goods from the United States.
Although the temporary agreement between the U.S. and China last week, which will delay the imposition of tariffs between them for 90 days, may help stimulate imports back into June and July, Cereca warned that the situation remains uncertain and trade policy remains highly volatile.
Gene Seroga added that as of mid-May, 17 out of 80 cruise ships scheduled to dock at the Port of Los Angeles had been cancelled, and an additional 10 cancellations are expected in the coming month.
The Port of Long Beach, located in San Pedro Bay along with the Port of Los Angeles, is also preparing for the impact, even though it handled a total of 867,493 TEU of containers in April, an increase of 15.6% year-on-year.
Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, stated that after handling the highest number of containers among U.S. ports in the first quarter of 2025, we now expect to see imports fall by more than 10% in May, and the impact will not be limited to the port area.
In addition, the Port of Oakland on the west coast is also beginning to feel the impact, with total cargo handled in April at 185,499 TEU, a decrease of 14.7% from March.
Read more at: https://www.infoquest.co.th/2025/496769