A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Traffic at major trading hubs in Southern California is down a lot. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are, together, the largest port complex in the U.S. And in the month or so since President Trump ratcheted up tariffs against Chinese goods, port officials had been predicting a drop in cargo. Now, this week, they said it fell by more than a third compared to the same week last year. Steve Futterman reports on how that's affecting the people whose livelihoods are connected to the ports.
(SOUNDBITE OF PORT ACTIVITY)
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Yesterday, outside the Longshore Union's dispatch hall, around 70 to 80 people who typically load and unload shipping containers were milling around. They were hoping for assignments. Thirty-nine-year-old Charlie Camacho is one of those who came looking for work. It's becoming harder to find.
CHARLIE CAMACHO: Less volume of cargo containers means less work for us. So, yeah, we feel it. We definitely feel it.
FUTTERMAN: Usually, when Camacho shows up, he gets jobs. Not right now.
Give me the realistic odds of getting work today.
CAMACHO: Ah, man. It's, like, 25%, maybe.
FUTTERMAN: When people like Camacho don't work, it impacts others. Frank Groves sells gloves and safety gear to dock workers and says his business is down nearly 75%.
FRANK GROVES: You know, no sales at all, really. If they're not working, I don't make no money.
FUTTERMAN: The immediate impact of the cargo decline affects virtually every business around the ports - trucking, shipping companies, distribution centers and others. Rob Walpole is the CEO of Custom Goods. His company handles shipments of products once they arrive in the U.S.
ROB WALPOLE: We've seen significant reductions of import shipping volumes into this country. That means significant less volumes that we'll be handling on behalf of our customers.
GENE SEROKA: The situation's not good.
FUTTERMAN: That's Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of L.A.
SEROKA: Cargo volume this week for imports is down 35% compared to last year. People are quite concerned, absolutely.
FUTTERMAN: He says this doesn't just affect people who work directly with the port.
SEROKA: The impact the Port of Los Angeles has on the city, the region and the country cannot be understated. The cargo that moves through this port reaches not only all 50 states, but each one of our 435 congressional districts.
FUTTERMAN: According to Seroka, big importers say shoppers could start to see shortages in four to six weeks, once inventory that was stockpiled ahead of the tariffs runs out.
SAL DICOSTANZO: You name it. They all come through our ports.
FUTTERMAN: Sal DiCostanzo is with the major union here - the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 13.
DICOSTANZO: Foods come and go, medical supplies, manufacturing components, finished products.
FUTTERMAN: Diane Middleton is a former member of the L.A. City Harbor Commission, which oversees the port. She says even if the tariffs were lifted today, it would take time for the supply chain to recover.
DIANE MIDDLETON: They don't just have ships lined up like taxicabs. Once you've cut all that off, you can't bring it back in a minute.
FUTTERMAN: She also worries that in the long term, trade could be forever changed. She says many countries, especially China, may be finding new and more dependable destinations for their goods, and they may choose to ship less to the U.S.
For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman at the Port of Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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