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 still being negotiated by President Trump.
That was the sobering message that port executive director Gene Seroka had for the Los Angeles Board of Harbour Commissioners during an update on port activity, reports Los Angeles Times.
'It's my prediction that in two weeks' time, arrivals will drop by 35 per cent 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,' Mr Seroka told the board.
Figures from Wabtec Corp, which tracks port cargo, predict the slowdown in container volume hitting as soon as this week. That's when seventeen vessels are scheduled to arrive with 85,486 TEU of goods, down 28.6 per cent from last week and 10.5 per cent from last year.
The decline will continue the following week, when 16 vessels are supposed to arrive carrying 74,925 TEU, down nearly 33 per cent from last year, according to Wabtec.
The drop-off follows a period of higher import volume as companies tried to get ahead of the tariffs.
Mr Seroka pointed to the current 145 per cent tariff rate on Chinese goods and the 10 per cent across-the-board tariffs that apply to nearly all nations as suppressing demand from US retailers and manufacturers.
And even though Mr Trump on April 9 announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs many nations may have to pay, Mr 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.'
Mr Seroka said he expects exports to be hit even harder. In March, the port moved 123,000 TEU, down 15 per cent from a year earlier - the fourth straight month of decline on a year-over-year basis. He said retaliatory tariffs are hitting agriculture, heavy duty manufacturing and the information technology and services sectors.
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That was the sobering message that port executive director Gene Seroka had for the Los Angeles Board of Harbour Commissioners during an update on port activity, reports Los Angeles Times.
'It's my prediction that in two weeks' time, arrivals will drop by 35 per cent 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,' Mr Seroka told the board.
Figures from Wabtec Corp, which tracks port cargo, predict the slowdown in container volume hitting as soon as this week. That's when seventeen vessels are scheduled to arrive with 85,486 TEU of goods, down 28.6 per cent from last week and 10.5 per cent from last year.
The decline will continue the following week, when 16 vessels are supposed to arrive carrying 74,925 TEU, down nearly 33 per cent from last year, according to Wabtec.
The drop-off follows a period of higher import volume as companies tried to get ahead of the tariffs.
Mr Seroka pointed to the current 145 per cent tariff rate on Chinese goods and the 10 per cent across-the-board tariffs that apply to nearly all nations as suppressing demand from US retailers and manufacturers.
And even though Mr Trump on April 9 announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs many nations may have to pay, Mr 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.'
Mr Seroka said he expects exports to be hit even harder. In March, the port moved 123,000 TEU, down 15 per cent from a year earlier - the fourth straight month of decline on a year-over-year basis. He said retaliatory tariffs are hitting agriculture, heavy duty manufacturing and the information technology and services sectors.
SeaNews Turkey
