Many of the incoming ships from China carrying the first loads of goods tariffed at 145% will hit U.S. ports half-empty, CNN reported Tuesday.
In addition to depressed cargo volume, 20% of the 80 ships that had been expected to arrive at the Port of Los Angeles have been canceled, according to the report.
“This week, we’re down about 35% compared to the same time last year, and these cargo ships coming in are the first ones to be attached to the tariffs that were levied against China and other locations last month,” Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, told CNN. “That’s why the cargo volume is so light.”
One logistics and freight forwarding broker told CNN that “a 60% decline in containers means 60% less stuff arriving.”
“It’s only a matter of time before they sell through existing inventory, and then you’ll see shortages. And that’s when you see price hikes,” Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen said.
The Port of Long Beach, California, is reporting 34 canceled sailings over the next two months, Axios reported Tuesday. Meanwhile, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, are expecting container imports to decline by 40% in May, according to the report.
“If we’ve got a 40% drop in vessel calls or container traffic, we’re going to have roughly an equivalent drop in the number of longshore hours, the number of truck trips,” Port of Seattle commissioner Ryan Calkins said last week, according to the report.
According to CNN estimates, shortages on certain items and higher prices will hit American consumers in a matter of weeks.
As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin told Newsmax last week — that’s the point. It’s the necesary short-term pain to get the U.S. on the right side of trade imbalances.
“Some people scratch their heads, and they say that this trade battle that’s going on, the negotiations that are out there, the tariffs that were added is going to make it harder to allow foreign companies to bring their stuff into the United States,” Zeldin said. “Well, it’s important to take a step back and understand why this is happening: It’s to boost the United States economy. There is a long game here.”
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