Latest news with #PortOfLosAngeles
CNN
6 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump's tariffs are under threat, but ports aren't seeing a big rebound yet. That's bad news for prices
US ports have been seeing pandemic-level declines in imports, so good news on tariffs was just what port officials were hoping for. For awhile on Wednesday, it looked like retailers and ports got exactly that, with a court blocking many of President Donald Trump's tariffs. But a federal appeals court on Thursday quickly paused that ruling. That kind of whiplash underscores why, even when there's news of tariffs easing, goods don't start flowing into US ports right away. And that could mean fewer goods on store shelves in the coming months, cutting into available choices and raising prices for everyday Americans. 'I think there was an expectation that all of a sudden everything would start coming in again. I don't think you've seen that huge rush to bring everything in again because I think folks are still being cautious on how this is going to proceed,' said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. Even after Trump lowered tariffs on China from 145% to 30% earlier this month, America's largest ports have yet to see a rebound. The Port of Los Angeles reported a 30% import decline during the final week of May compared to last year. The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which represents the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, says imports also dropped by 30% from the last week in April to the first week in May, and volume is significantly lower compared to last year. Then Wednesday evening's decision by a US court in Manhattan injected new chaos into the trade picture. The ruling blocked a swath of Trump's tariffs, including a 10% tariff on most imports and the higher duties on China, Mexico and Canada. The White House filed an appeal, and by Thursday afternoon a federal appeals court restored the tariffs until both sides provide written arguments by early next month. The back and forth is confusing enough for any retailer trying to do business, especially when they have to plan weeks or even months in advance. 'It's kind of a ping pong back and forth. We're trying to understand what's on, what's off. So it's very difficult for retailers to try and plan ahead,' said Gold. As retailers sit confused, fewer containers are headed for America's ports. The 30% tariff on China was already proving too costly for many retailers to bring more inventory into the United States, according to Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. About 45% of the port's cargo comes from China. Those that can afford the cost are shipping already-manufactured products, but no new factory orders are being placed, he said. 'With the whipsaw effect of information that continues to come out on trade policy and tariffs – many continue to take the wait and see approach,' Seroka told CNBC on Thursday. Things are improving for the Port of LA, albeit slowly. In the first week of June, 96,000 large cargo containers are expected to arrive, up from 69,000 in the final week of May. By the second week of June, 106,000 containers are expected. That's a jump, but that's still a loss of 9.4% from last year, according to port data. 'We're nowhere near where we should be heading into the first two weeks of June. We still have 10 cancelled sailings of scheduled vessel arrivals for June – half of those are in the first week,' Seroka said. 'So we are not seeing an uptick like some observers had called for or a big surge. It's a moderate uptick to catch up to where we were.' It's not just cost – businesses are also facing a time crunch. The 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs is set to expire on July 9, and the 90-day pause with China expires on August 12. 'Ninety days of this reprieve is a short time in our business. That's typically the amount of time that it takes to put an order in, get the goods manufactured and ready to ship here to LA,' Seroka said. Still, some experts say a surge may manifest, but what it looks like is hard to predict. 'There's probably not going to be an issue with empty shelves, but I think there will be additional costs being potentially passed on to consumers, because what we're seeing is all this uncertainty has a cost,' said Daniel Hackett, a partner at Hackett Associates, a maritime strategy and trade logistics company. A number of large retailers, such as Walmart, Home Depot and Target, have already said they will increase prices to mitigate the impact of tariffs. 'You have supply chains, and they like predictability. They like certainty,' Hackett said. 'It's just that uncertainty is adding costs, if nothing else.'
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
U.S. Ports Grapple With On-Again, Off-Again Tariffs
News that President Trump's tariffs were off and then back on again rippled on Thursday through two California ports that are the busiest in the nation, where tens of thousands of dockworkers, truck drivers and others were working busily to unload containers of imported car parts, T-shirts and computers to be sent around the United States. Speaking from a boat that putted around the harbor of the Port of Los Angeles, Gene Seroka, the port's chief executive officer, said the latest court rulings underscored the uncertainty that importers and the port had been grappling with this year, as tariffs on various countries shot up, only to fall back down again. Late on Wednesday, a federal court ruled that Mr. Trump's tariffs on many countries were illegal and gave him 10 days to reverse them. But on Thursday, a separate court that was hearing an appeal by the Trump administration temporarily paused that decision. Lawyers have now been asked to provide written arguments by early next month. 'Until we have some sense of permanency with trade and tariffs, there remains a lot of confusion,' Mr. Seroka said, as the boat maneuvered between hulking container ships where cranes were loading and unloading steel containers. He said that the court rulings on tariffs were 'one piece in a very complex situation' that businesses were having to navigate. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together process about a third of the containers that come into the United States stuffed with foreign products, and both have seen their business fluctuate as Mr. Trump has repeatedly imposed tariffs and then revoked them. Mr. Seroka said that his port's volume was down about a third in May compared with the prior year. The chief executive officer at the nearby Port of Long Beach, Mario Cordero, said that the Wednesday court ruling and its suspension on Thursday 'reaffirms how, day to day, things change.' For example, he said it appeared just last week that the United States was headed for 50 percent tariffs on European products — but now that has been suspended. Last month, the president jacked up tariffs on Chinese products to a minimum of 145 percent, before reducing them to 30 percent or more this month. 'This industry has gone through a period of uncertainty that I think is unprecedented,' Mr. Cordero said.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Court battle over Trump tariffs prolongs shipper uncertainty as holiday season nears
LOS ANGELES, May 29 (Reuters) - Importer uncertainty ahead of the vital holiday ocean shipping season remains high, the executive director of the busiest port in the U.S. said on Thursday, as a court battle broke out over President Donald Trump's trade tariffs. A U.S. Court of International Trade ruling late on Wednesday threatened to kill or at least delay the imposition of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs on most U.S. trading partners, but a federal appeals court on Thursday temporarily reinstated those duties. Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles, said business is softer than usual going into traditional ocean shipping season for back-to-school, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas merchandise. He expects the port's May volume to be down by double-digit percentages versus a year earlier, after 30% drops in the first and fourth weeks of the month. For June, 10 scheduled vessel arrivals to the Port of Los Angeles have been canceled, including five in the first week of the month, Seroka added. "Companies really don't have the certainty, and they remain on pause," he said, adding that since January, there have been close to 60 different announcements on trade policy and tariffs. The Port of Los Angeles is the No. 1 ocean gateway for goods from China and seen as a barometer for trade between the world's two largest economies. Key customers include major retailers like Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab and sellers of parts for major auto makers such as Ford (F.N), opens new tab. Trump slapped 145% tariffs on China last month, halting many shipments of goods to the United States. The resulting drop in cargo volume was delayed by two to three weeks due to transit times, and this month fewer ships carrying less cargo are docking at the Port of Los Angeles and other seaports. That's despite the U.S. and China striking a deal to temporarily reduce tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% earlier this month. The federal appeals court on Thursday directed the plaintiffs in the legal challenge to the tariffs to respond by June 5 and the Trump administration to respond by June 9, meaning the uncertainty is likely to drag on. "People are really wagering right now, 'Do I put my order in at elevated tariff rates? Could something change over time?'" Seroka said. "There's no surge coming our way."
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
LA Port Shipments Fell 30% in Early May After Trump Tariffs
Inbound shipments to the Port of Los Angeles — the busiest container hub in the US — dropped as much as 30% in early May as President Donald Trump's tariffs discourage trade. 'Fewer containers mean less work on the waterfront, from the number of labor gangs that are out there responding to the shift requirements of cargo, to the truckers and warehouse workers,' Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said on a call with reporters Monday. 'The impact was felt almost immediately during that first week of May.'
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Busiest US seaport unlikely to see tariff-related cargo boom, CEO says
LOS ANGELES, May 19 (Reuters) - The head of the busiest U.S. port does not expect imports to soar after last week's tariff truce between Washington and Beijing that temporarily lowered the duty to 30% from 145%. "You won't see a deluge of freight here at the Port of Los Angeles," Gene Seroka, executive director of the port that is also No. 1 for trade with China, said in a briefing on Monday. "What we'll see is a little bit of an uptick in bookings in Asia," Seroka said of reservations on cargo ships headed for the port. That rise likely will be linked to importers scooping up cargo that was manufactured before the U.S. imposed the 145% tariffs last month, rather than to new orders that may not be ready when the 90-day reprieve closes, he said. The Port of Los Angeles and the adjacent Port of Long Beach handle 31% of U.S. sea trade and are a barometer for U.S. economic activity. They handle everything from incoming toys, apparel and auto parts to outgoing raw cotton and pet and animal feed. The coming volume uptick follows a sharp drop in bookings after the United States imposed on April 9 the 145% import duties on China - its largest marine trading partner. It takes a few weeks for the effects to show up at U.S. ports, so May imports reflect the escalation to 145% tariffs. During the first 15 days of this month, 74 container ships arrived at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, 11 fewer than usual, according to data from Marine Exchange of Southern California. "The May volume drop is likely to be substantial when we close the books on this month," said Seroka, who declined to make a specific forecast. Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero said on Thursday he expected a more than a 10% drop-off in imports in May. Consumers drive retail demand that accounts for nearly half of container shipping volume. U.S. consumers will see prices rise as importers pass on the extra cost of tariffs. Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab, the nation's largest retailer and the biggest user of container shipping, said it would raise prices starting at the end of May and would pare orders for goods shoppers will not pay more for.
