Shipments from China to the West Coast are expected to fall sharply next week, with cargo to the Port of Los Angeles projected to drop by more than a third, as President Donald Trump’s new tariffs prompt major U.S. retailers to curb import orders, the New York Post reported.
Gene Seroka, who heads the nation’s busiest container port, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that American retailers are halting large orders from China in response to the new duties, significantly reducing incoming cargo volume.
“According to our own port optimizer, which measures the loadings in Asia, we’ll be down just a little bit over 35% next week compared to last year. And it’s a precipitous drop in volume with a number of major American retailers stopping all shipments from China based on the tariffs,” Seroka said.
Chinese goods comprise about 45% of the Port of Los Angeles’ total cargo volume. The drop in shipments could mark one of the steepest short-term trade slowdowns the port has seen in years.
While the U.S. seeks to reduce its reliance on Chinese imports, some logistics companies are attempting to reroute trade through other parts of Southeast Asia. Still, Seroka said these efforts are unlikely to compensate for the full loss of goods of Chinese origin.
“Realistically speaking, until some accord or framework can be reached with China, the volume coming out of there — save a couple of different commodities — will be very light at best,” he added.
Adding to concerns, Seroka said the port anticipates canceling about a quarter of its usual ship arrivals in May due to reduced demand. The cutbacks come amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing following Trump’s April 2 announcement of a broad increase in tariffs on Chinese imports.
Beijing responded swiftly with retaliatory tariffs, raising the combined levies of the two countries to more than 100% on many goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called the standoff “unsustainable,” but no significant negotiations have emerged to resolve the dispute.
Economic analysts are already warning of broader impacts. Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, has outlined the risk of job losses in the transportation and retail sectors, shrinking inventories, and a possible recession if trade disruptions persist through summer.
Despite these concerns, U.S. retailers are temporarily buffered by inventory stockpiled ahead of Trump’s tariff hike. Seroka estimated that companies have five to seven weeks of inventory before product shortages become visible to consumers.
“I don’t see a complete emptiness on store shelves or online when we’re buying. But if you’re out looking for a blue shirt, you might find 11 purple ones and one blue in a size that’s not yours,” he said.
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