California's port traffic is severely impacted by President Trump's tariff policies, leading to more vessel cancellations than experienced during COVID-19. Executives from key ports, including Long Beach and Los Angeles, report high cancellation rates and declining container activity. The unpredictability of tariffs has caused businesses to hesitate in placing orders. This instability has resulted in diminishing job opportunities for longshore workers, as the number of work gangs and available hours decline, signalling a challenging period for port operations and employment in the industry.
The vessel calls, or cancellations, that we're seeing today are starting to exceed the number that we saw in COVID-19, said Mario Cordero.
The unpredictability of Trump's edicts means there won't be a surge of cargo, many businesses are waiting to act, including to order goods for import, said Martha Miller.
Besides the numbers of containers at the ports, gang numbers are another indicator of the amount of work available, indicating dwindling jobs for longshore workers.
Part-time workers are not getting any hours right now, said Gary Herrera, highlighting the impact of tariff-induced changes on full-time and part-time longshore workers.
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