Port of Los Angeles urges negotiators to seek end to U.S.-China trade war

A resolution to trade tensions between the U.S. and China can’t come quickly enough to satisfy our nation’s largest ocean cargo gateway. 

In a report issued by the Port of Los Angeles this week, statisticians noted that LA moved 779,903 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in September, a 2.7% decrease compared to 2018’s record-breaking September. 

 “The ill-advised U.S.-China trade war continues to wreak havoc on American exporters and manufacturers,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “We’ve seen declining exports for 11 consecutive months while our fastest growing market segment is exporting empty containers back to Asia. It’s likely we’ll see softer volumes in the fourth quarter. We must have a negotiated settlement of the trade war as it is beginning to impact the more than 3 million jobs in the U.S. that are tied to this port complex.”

September 2019 imports decreased 2.9% to 402,320 TEUs compared to the previous year. Exports decreased 11% to 130,769 TEUs, the 11th consecutive monthly decline of exports. Empty containers increased 2.9% to 246,814 TEUs. Combined, September volumes were 779,903 TEUs. 

Fitch Ratings’ Senior Director, Emma Griffith, told LM in an interview that West Coast ports have “the most to lose” in a protracted trade war with China.

“We saw more logistics managers opting for East Coast ports last year as concerns became more pronounced,” he said. “This is a trend that is expected to continue.” 

Fitch's “U.S. Transportation Trends - Fall 2019” report also noted that some other Pacific Rim ports will face greater adverse effects based on their individual balance of trade as shippers try to beat tariff deadlines.