West Coast Ports Struggle as 145% Tariff on Chinese Goods Cuts Shipping Volumes

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are experiencing a significant decline in business due to a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, enacted by President Donald Trump in early April. This has led to canceled sailings, reduced container volumes, and uncertainty among shippers. Port officials, including Gene Seroka and Mario Cordero, report a 35% drop in cargo arrivals compared to last year, with 17 sailings canceled for May. The disruption is comparable to early COVID-19 pandemic levels, with no clear recovery timeline as the peak shipping season approaches.

Tariffs Trigger Steep Drop in Cargo Arrivals

The 145% tariff, applied to Chinese goods loaded after April 9, has made many imports prohibitively expensive for U.S. businesses. As a result, shipping volumes at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have plummeted. Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, told CNN that cargo arriving this week is expected to be down 35% compared to the same period last year. “This week is when we will begin to see the arrivals off of that [tariff] announcement on April 2,” Seroka said.

The decline is not just year-over-year. Compared to the previous week, container arrivals at the Port of Los Angeles are down 30.4%, according to Seroka. Seventeen sailings have already been canceled for May at the port complex, which handles approximately 40% of all U.S. container imports.

Port Officials Sound the Alarm

Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero echoed Seroka’s concerns, describing the situation as a “precipitous” drop in business. “Arrivals next week at the Port of Los Angeles will be down more than 35%,” Cordero told the Daily Breeze. He attributed the slowdown to what he called “radical uncertainty” in the trade environment. “If you’re a shipper and have products in China when there’s a 145% tariff, you’re going to want to wait if you believe this is going to be mitigated in the months to come,” he said.

The timing of the downturn is particularly troubling. The months leading up to July typically mark the beginning of the peak shipping season, when retailers stock up for back-to-school and holiday sales. Instead, the ports are seeing a contraction in activity, with dockworkers facing reduced hours and truckers hauling fewer containers.

Trade Data Reflects the Impact

Customs data shows that the U.S. imported approximately 11 million containers from China last year, accounting for 38% of total container imports. Since the tariff hike, shipping executives estimate that the volume has already dropped by around 300,000 containers. Maritime intelligence firm Linerlytica reported that cargo volumes out of China are down by as much as 50%, a shortfall that Southeast Asian exporters have not been able to offset.

The decline in Chinese shipments has also led to a shift in freight pricing. According to Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, freight rates from Vietnam to the U.S. West Coast have increased by $200 per container, surpassing rates from China, which were nearly equal just weeks ago. This suggests that some importers are attempting to reroute supply chains, but the scale of the Chinese shortfall is too large to be quickly replaced.

Operational Adjustments and Industry Response

In response to the reduced demand, ocean carriers are scaling back operations. Many are deploying smaller vessels or canceling sailings altogether. The world’s largest shipping lines are now operating with increased caution, awaiting clarity on whether the tariffs will be rolled back or remain in place through the summer.

The slowdown is already affecting labor and logistics on the ground. “The trucker hauling four or five containers today, next week she probably hauls two or three,” Seroka said during a Bloomberg panel. “The dockworkers are no longer going to see overtime and double-shifts; they’re going to probably work less than a traditional work-week right off the bat.”

A Disruption on Par with the Pandemic?

The scale of the disruption is drawing comparisons to the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, container arrivals at the Port of Los Angeles dropped by about 30%. Seroka now warns that the current decline is on a similar scale, with the port operating at just two-thirds of its normal volume.

While President Trump has indicated that the tariffs may eventually be reduced, he has not provided a timeline. “At some point, I’m going to lower [tariffs on China] because otherwise, you could never do business with them,” he said, according to Axios. “And they want to do business very much. Look, their economy is really doing badly. Their economy is collapsing.”

Until then, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach remain in a holding pattern, bracing for continued volatility and hoping for a resolution before the peak shipping season begins in earnest.

References

• West Coast ports brace for steep cargo drop as China tariffs take hold - Furniture Today
• China-to-U.S. Container Shipments Fall Sharply as Tariffs Impact Global Trade
• When Tariff Shortages Arrive, Here's What Might Be Missing
• Ports of L.A., Long Beach already suffering from tariffs