Port of Los Angeles sees record container traffic as shippers race to beat Trump's tariff deadlines

CNBC

a day ago

The Port of Los Angeles reported its best June ever for shipping container traffic, an increase in ocean freight that port executives described as a tariff whipsaw effect, with shippers racing to beat President Trump's trade taxes, especially a mid-August deadline for tariffs on Chinese goods.
A total of 892,340 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) were processed at the Port of Los Angeles in June, containers filled with holiday season and consumer replenishment products. The increase in containers was not a surprise after President Trump lowered the 145% tariff on Chinese goods to 45%. The deadline for the tariff negotiations with China is currently set for August 12. An increase in U.S. manufacturing orders from China during the pause helped fuel China's trade surplus to $114.7 billion last month.
It's been the busiest June in the 117-year history of the port, but port officials have stressed in recent commentary that the increase in freight should not be referred to as a surge, and that tone was reiterated with the June numbers now official, and an 8% improvement over last year, Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka said that more than anything else, the monthly data highlights the tariff whipsaw effect. Imports had slowed significantly in May and continued to drop through the first half of June.
"Shifting timelines simply mean shifting volume and more uncertainty here at the Port of LA," said Seroka. "Looking into August, if everything holds the way we see it right now, I expect volume to ease because of those new tariffs being in place, making it more costly for American importers," he said, citing a National Retail Federation forecast for a double-digit percentage drop in cargo volume from August through November at U.S. ports.
Seroka said the year-end holiday cargo orders should already be in. "It's too late to try to negotiate orders at this point in time for that year-end product," he said.
For importers, even amid the trade war pause, the cost of the mounting tariffs has been significant for their businesses.
Bobby Djavaheri, president of Yedi Houseware, told CNBC during a monthly container update call hosted by the Port of Los Angeles that the layering of China tariffs plus stainless steel tariffs has greatly increased the tariff bill his firm is paying on air fryers and other kitchen appliances.
"Before the tariffs, one load would have cost between $1,500 to $2,000. Now it's between $40,000-$50,000," said Djavaheri.
Mike Short, president of global freight forwarding for C.H. Robinson, said even with the big June numbers in LA, some shippers are reducing import volumes and only bringing in essential products like back-to-school items.
"Others accelerated shipments to beat tariff deadlines from Southeast Asia, and many stuck to their standard peak season schedules, taking a more wait-and-see approach," said Short. "Although we're approaching traditional retail peak season for ocean, it's not likely the industry will see traditional peak volumes, as many of our 7,500 retail customers are working through inventories and being highly selective and strategic, bringing in only the essential products they must import," he said.
Trump last week issued letters covering new tariffs he plans to place on several Asian nations, while recently striking a preliminary trade deal with Vietnam that brings tariffs on many of its products up to 30%.
Short said while the recent deadline extensions provided nearly a month of breathing room, that's not enough time for most ocean shipments, which take on average between 20–30 days of transit time. East Coast travel time can be longer. For U.S. companies that need to bring in product but did not secure ocean freight, more expensive air freight is the only option.
Josh Allen, COO of ITS Logistics, said the landscape of sourcing is changing, and supply chain and logistics professionals are now charged with building new routes to move goods from manufacturing locations to end markets. When a company's manufacturing base is changed to a different country, travel time on the ocean can be longer, and the U.S. port destination can be different. "We are watching and responding to these changes in real time," Allen said. He added that despite a record June for LA's port, the broader trade slump is helping to navigate the changes. "The logistics industry can handle and recover because demand has been depressed," he said.
Kim Vaccarella, founder and CEO of fashion and accessories company Bogg, started to diversify her company's manufacturing in Vietnam to offset the tariffs on China, but all of the machines, product molds, and raw materials continue to come from China. "We have narrowed the production of our bags from four to two," said Vaccarella. "Originally, we cut our manufacturing by 50% but because we are now manufacturing two bags we added back some orders, but not all."
President Trump's trade deal with Vietnam is still not official, and the initial language on the deal includes a 40% additional tariff on transhipments, a reference to products that begin their manufacturing journey in China even if they are ultimately finished in another nation such as Vietnam.
Bogg temporarily increased prices back in April before Trump paused tariff schedules, but then reinstated the original pricing. "Everything is up in the air because of all the uncertainty," Vaccarella said. "After the April claw back in prices we announced we would make a decision in July on prices, but we still have no clear picture."