The Trump administration is likely monitoring sliding scheduled import volumes at the Port of Los Angeles—the largest container port in the Western Hemisphere—amid President Trump's overnight remarks hinting at a potential de-escalation in the trade war with China. The president's comments to ease trade tensions with Beijing come as scheduled import volumes at the LA Port indicate possible inbound trade disruptions on the horizon.
According to Port Optimizer, a tracking system for vessel operators, scheduled import volumes for the LA Port for the week ending May 3 show a 38.53% week-over-week plunge. Year-over-year, the data shows a 9.79% decrease. For the week ending May 10, scheduled import volumes continued to slow, with a year-over-year change down around 35%.
We've closely monitored the fallout from the 145% tariffs on Chinese goods entering the U.S. for weeks, as trade disruptions ripple from China to the U.S. Now, it appears those disruptions are about to reach American West Coast ports.
Let's review what's transpired:
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Amazon Cancels Orders, Walmart Pulls Forecast As Tariffs Take Hold
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Are China Road Traffic Indicators Set To Collapse As Tariff War Cancels Factory Orders
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Chinese Sellers On Amazon Panic After Trump's Tariff Bazooka
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Liberation Day Fallout: China's Port Volumes Sink After Trump's Tariff Blitz
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Chinese Plastics Factories Face Mass Closure As U.S. Ethane Supply Evaporates
"We are at a tipping point on the West Coast," Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics, told CNBC, adding, "Looking at how many truck loads are available versus trucks, we've seen a precipitous drop, over 700,000 loads have evaporated nationally in the past week compared to two weeks prior."
Falling scheduled import volumes at the LA Port coincide with a rise in canceled sailings.
More color from CNBC:
Trump's possible de-escalation of the trade war also came after the IMF reported on Tuesday that tariffs had prompted it to slash its global growth forecast.
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