Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week • Hacker News Board

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#91

Post by croes » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:35 PM UTC

thehoff wrote: post #10

taylodl wrote: post #7

This could get really ugly when the shelves start going empty. This may make the toilet paper incident seem quaint in comparison.

FTA: Maybe not empty but less choice and alternatives not necessarily what you're looking for. “I don’t see a complete emptiness on store shelves or online when we’re buying. But if you’re out looking for a blue shirt, you might find 11 purple ones and one blue in a size that’s not yours. So we’ll start seeing less choice on those shelves simply because we’re not getting the variety of goods coming in here based on t…

So I look for shirts and only find pants.

Not an empty shelf in the literal way but empty on my demand

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#92

Post by rdtsc » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:35 PM UTC

louthy wrote: post #25

rdtsc wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I hate to be so cynical these days....but if this is true, that would mean a lot of But since we’re being cynical, is importing stuff just to keep the port workers busy a good idea?

Because that’s the only reason things are imported?

No but it's presented as the major problem to solve. There are lot larger issues at play and if keeping pork workers buys is the goal, then we should have them load and unload empty boxes /s

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#93

Post by dylan604 » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:35 PM UTC

taylodl wrote: post #8

duxup wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be sad, but amused, when Trump and Co declare that each state should build factories to fill their needs for basic products ... similar to proposals made during the economic collapse days in Venezuela.

The United States has never had such incompetence in governance. Americans aren't accustomed to this degree of ineptness.

Everyone made fun of W about being the least competent, but then the GOP went and collectively said "hold my beer". Twice.

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#94

Post by polyomino » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:37 PM UTC

pelagic_sky wrote: post #4

Seattle ports are currently empty, will be interesting to see if this holds true . https://seemorerocks.substack.com/p/port-of-seattle-empty-ze...

lies, source: I looked out my window

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#95

Post by rtkwe » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:37 PM UTC

The general disruption could wind up blocking or delaying even goods that are still viable and profitable or simply only available from China under the tariffs simply because the ships themselves are only viable if they are fully loaded so they'll wind up not coming to the US for long gaps if the broader "reciprocal" tariffs stop other SEA traffic as well.

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#96

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:37 PM UTC

rad_gruchalski wrote: post #38

bitmasher9 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except those businesses relay heavily on imported materials. For example, no one is weaving cotton into fabric in the US at any scale.

Well… it’s the best time to start? I guess that’s what the MAGA Sun is hoping for.

[deleted]

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#97

Post by eber » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:37 PM UTC

xnx wrote: post #15

What's a good/authoritative site for tracking activity of US ports. This tells a little bit of the story: https://www.drewry.co.uk/supply-chain-advisors/supply-chain-... Longer term trends would be nice.

I looked for something like this yesterday, and came across this dashboard with trends for the Port of LA only: https://signal.portoptimizer.com/ which seems to be a port activity dashboard (demo with real data) for the port of LA via portoptimizer.com

You'll see the trends don't seem so bad yet, but they have a previous-12-weeks graph of current year vs previous year which will be interesting to follow

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#98

Post by rdtsc » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:37 PM UTC

duxup wrote: post #39

rdtsc wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I hate to be so cynical these days....but if this is true, that would mean a lot of But since we’re being cynical, is importing stuff just to keep the port workers busy a good idea?

> just Well we don’t import things to just do that.

Sure, but it's presented as the major problem here. There are other problems to worry about at that scale

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#99

Post by rayiner » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:38 PM UTC

Stopping the flow of Chinese products, often made with child or forced labor, is a good thing: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-o.... Weren’t we upset about the Uyghurs five minutes ago?

Trade with China is bad. It means a race to the bottom with a foreign country that doesn’t have our labor protections or environmental laws, and whose “comparative advantage” is cheaper labor. This was a widely accepted belief among the left until recently: https://youtu.be/kHRZnz5oHsE?si=A3QViVdPHISAP6qI. It’s insane to give up on beliefs-especially when you’re right—because you’re mad the “wrong people” have finally come around to agreeing with you!

What would the tariffs be if you made them only high enough to offset China’s looser regulation and cheaper labor? The current tariffs probably are in the same ballpark.

Re: Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week

#100

Post by rad_gruchalski » Wed, Apr 30, 2025, 2:38 PM UTC

zelda420 wrote: post #78

rad_gruchalski wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well… it’s the best time to start? I guess that’s what the MAGA Sun is hoping for.

Unfortunately the largest cotton producing country is china, followed by India. My grandparents actually worked and met at a denim factory in west Texas which was renowned for its cotton production. Growing up I remember giant cotton fields which have all been replaced with strip malls and sprawl. It’s going to be a multi-year project at the very least. And even then probably still cheaper to make clothes in Vietnam.

> It’s going to be a multi-year project

But that’s what MAGA wants and Trump clearly, like Putin, doesn’t want to go anywhere so maybe start now? I can see, like you, how tragically comedic this situation is.