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

cnbc.com

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

#111

Post by perihelions »

ebruchez wrote: post #76
perihelions wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But, China itself is automating away most of those jobs. It's a stark difference between Chinese and Western—just look at the phraseology we're using, without thinking about it: "out of jobs"; in China's zeitgeist they wouldn't say they lost jobs to technology, they say they "saved 80 percent of manpower" [0]. [0] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1304443.shtml ( "China’s first self-built fully automated dock en…

True or not, be aware that "The Global Times is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the People's Daily, commenting on international issues from a Chinese nationalistic perspective." (Wikipedia)

- "Chinese nationalistic perspective"

Yes, that was the point I tried to make. The story isn't the point; the choice of language Chinese state media uses is the point.

Can you even imagine the US government, under either party, boasting about eliminating tens of thousands of US longshoremen jobs?

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

#113

Post by rdtsc »

thehoff wrote: post #27
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?

I didn't mean we should keep importing to keep people busy. I'm sure that whatever was coming through those ports was ordered by a large number of companies/individuals. Sure, if we were in a downturn it would slow but not come to a standstill. From this article "Even during the COVID nonsense, the supply chain did not experience THIS kind of sudden shut down."

> I didn't mean we should keep importing to keep people busy. I'm sure that whatever was coming through those ports was ordered by a large number of companies/individual

Sure but you were being cynical and presented port workers not having having thing to unload as a major issue to worry about. In the whole scheme it seemed like not the first problem to solve.

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

#114

Post by ChainOfFools »

thehoff wrote: post #12
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...

I hate to be so cynical these days....but if this is true, that would mean a lot of dockworkers/longshoreman are out of jobs or not working right? Truck drivers, and who knows what other jobs are just not doing anything at this point?

Intermodal freight drayage industry, which is largely comprised of a thousands of very small and ineffocoently run mom and pop nepo-companies run dependent upon an open tolerance of very scammy business tactics extending temporary surcharges indefinitely, milking covid business relief loans to the fullest extent possible) in order to survive, is going to experience a mass die-off if this tariff war lasts another 6 to 9 months.

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

#115

Post by toomuchtodo »

rs999gti wrote: post #108
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.

> the toilet paper I guess these US manufacturers will need to step it up: Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble, and Georgia-Pacific

The feedstock for toilet paper (wood pulp) comes from Canada.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-tariffs-on-canadian-lumber...

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

#116

Post by arrobbiato »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #13

IMO For impact on normal people's day-to-day life, the suspension of the de minimis rule that allowed boxes under $800 declared value (i.e., construction cost) to be imported with no tariff will have more of an impact than any other recent change. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/what-the-end-of-the-de-...

Some of that impact will be positive, as de minimis shipments are a major route for importing drugs and their precursors into the US: https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/buyer-beware-bad-actors-exploi...

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

#117

Post by rtkwe »

duxup wrote: post #45
SwamyM wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question but how likely is that to happen? The media doesn't seem to be doing a good job articulating what the (likely) real world impact is going to be. I keep hearing how other countries are negotiating but when you look into the details, there is nothing of substance actually happening.

I don’t think the media really knows what will happen. Trump randomly decides to lift tariffs and any prediction is off.

Even if the future of the tariffs themselves were at all predictable many outlets are allergic to any connecting of dots. I saw an article from The Hill just yesterday that took the line that the RTO mandate for federal workers was an actual attempt to "improve productivity" at face value without an ounce of push back in an article about how poorly the RTO is going.

The big outlets are terrified to get on this admin's bad side because their current business wants to do a lot of mergers which have to be approved and the administration can tie those up for years on a whim so they're already lying down.

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

#118

Post by throw310822 »

Aurornis wrote: post #55
throw310822 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dockworkers, logistics, truck delivery drivers, warehouse workers, etc. On the other hand, I guess it might be a great time for small shops and businesses that produce low to medium tech stuff- from crafts, clothing and furniture to electronics. Even if the country's going to suffer they should profit handsomely (which is not a bad thing per se).

> On the other hand, I guess it might be a great time for small shops and businesses that produce low to medium tech stuff- from crafts, clothing and furniture to electronics. Absolutely not. All of the small businesses I know are getting crushed by tariffs. Electronics especially. With 125% tariffs on everyone from China, prices just exploded. Even domestic PCB manufacturers prices and lead times have shot up due to…

I didn't mean that this is going to be a net positive or even better than disastrous. I'm just saying that if you already have a small business in the US making stuff that was hard to sell locally given the cheaper competition from abroad, people will have no choice but come to you.

> Even domestic PCB manufacturers prices and lead times have shot up due to demand.

Exactly this, I bet those PCB manufacturers are quite happy. Some of their employees might get the idea of setting up a new business, too.

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

#119

Post by jp57 »

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.

HN should have a feature where you can tag a prediction to come back for review after some period of time.

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

#120

Post by rayiner »

reaperducer wrote: post #87
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.

This could get really ugly when the shelves start going empty. Retailers Fear Toy Shortages at Christmas as Tariffs Freeze Supply Chain: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/business/trump-tariffs-ch... In a Toy Association survey of 410 toy manufacturers with annual sales of less than $100 million, more than 60 percent said they had canceled orders, and around 50 percent said they would go out of business within weeks…

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