No container tsunami heading to Los Angeles, says port chief

The head of the busiest U.S. container port doesn’t expect a big jump in import shipments during the pause in China tariffs.

“Next we will see an uptick in [vessel] bookings from China, but I don’t see a huge surge that will impact the Port of Los Angeles,” said port Executive Director Gene Seroka, in a monthly media briefing. “Probably less than the 30% that we had during the ‘peak of the peak’ of COVID.

“From all the stakeholders we talk with and all the data we review, we are seeing bookings pick up at Asia ports. But prices are still very much elevated, leading retailers, manufacturers and other importers to carefully evaluate their strategies.”

Representatives from China and the U.S. on May 12 agreed to temporarily pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, slashing the levies on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%.