Port Of Los Angeles Warns 'Difficult Decisions' Ahead As Shipments From China Cease

Landon Caeli · Tuesday at 3:25 PM

President Donald Trump's trade war policies are expected to bring about a 35% decline in cargo arriving at the Port of Los Angeles by next week as "essentially all shipments out of China for major retailers and manufacturers have ceased," according to Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

MSN

Landon Caeli · Tuesday at 3:28 PM

...Excellent!

I suppose manufacturers will also have some "difficult decisions" ahead.

durangodawood · Tuesday at 3:41 PM

Landon Caeli said:
...Excellent!

I suppose manufacturers will also have some "difficult decisions" ahead.

Nobody trusts Trump to stick with a thing long enough to base business investment decisions on it. He's unstable. And in that environment you tend to hold tight and avoid moves.

Richard T · Tuesday at 11:40 PM

This will be interesting. Even a 10% tariff can be an effective motivator for suppliers to shift locations. But since all nations have that, it makes the choices easy. If the average cost + tariffs is less in the USA, then most would open a factory in the USA. Once you hit differentials in tariffs above the ten percent line, it gets harder. You still look at average total costs of production + the tariff rates. You would relocate your plant to either the USA or whatever nation would give the lowest average cost of production. The problems with the Trump policies for the ports etc. is most expect them to be transitory as the previous poster suggests. Until there is clarity there is likely to be shortages or far higher prices for most goods from Asia, which I assume is what the California ports handle the most. At 100% tariff levels it is so costly, that you might as well embargo goods from China because there is no way they are competitive in the long run at those tariff levels.

Today, Trump said that China will eat the tariff costs. This sounds great, but the reality is that most goods from China have low profit margins. They might take below cost prices for a very brief time, but China is shopping for other markets for many shipments already produced and they will adjust factory output to match the rest of the world minus what they previously sold to the USA.

Perpetual Student · Wednesday at 2:01 AM

Landon Caeli said:
President Donald Trump's trade war policies are expected to bring about a 35% decline in cargo arriving at the Port of Los Angeles by next week as "essentially all shipments out of China for major retailers and manufacturers have ceased," according to Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

MSN

"Retailers and manufacturers".
How is the American industry (you know: manufacturers) going to keep its people busy if there are raw materials or parts that don't come in anymore?

Nithavela · Wednesday at 3:10 AM

Lot's of american consumers are also about to make some difficult decisions.

Nithavela · Wednesday at 3:11 AM

Perpetual Student said:
"Retailers and manufacturers".
How is the American industry (you know: manufacturers) going to keep its people busy if there are raw materials or parts that don't come in anymore?

They could send them into the mines to dig for new materials.

wing2000 · Wednesday at 7:36 AM

Nithavela said:
Lot's of american consumers are also about to make some difficult decisions.

....parents may want to condition their kids not to expect new outfits for the new school year. Word is the "back to school" inventories are sitting in Chinese warehouses.

Richard T · Wednesday at 7:49 AM

wing2000 said:
....parents may want to condition their kids not to expect new outfits for the new school year. Word is the "back to school" inventories are sitting in Chinese warehouses.

There is one interesting facet of tariffs vs income taxes that I have yet see mentioned. Under tariffs the poor and middle class may have an alternative in used goods and shopping at the border. Whereas under income taxes, it is primarily the rich that can find loopholes in which to reduce their tax rate.
WalMart should be investing in Mexican stores right now.

Laodicean60 · Wednesday at 8:23 AM

Perpetual Student said:
"Retailers and manufacturers".
How is the American industry (you know: manufacturers) going to keep its people busy if there are raw materials or parts that don't come in anymore?

They won't, we are headed for a recession. But in the article "essentially all shipments out of China for major retailers," The underlined is loaded to me, it's like a half full or half empty comment. There is shipping, but reduced, and we are receiving what was agreed upon in the tariff deal.

And since 2023, US factories end 2023 on soft note amid signs of excess operating capacity

Richard T said:
WalMart should be investing in Mexican stores right now.

More friend-shoring is good. It will be a cultural shock, as Wing2000 mentioned, but it's needed now that China is a superpower. We'll have to learn not to be a throwaway nation, which will help the environment and conserve resources.

essentialsaltes · Wednesday at 9:28 AM

UPS cutting 20,000 jobs amid expected reduction in Amazon shipments

In a Tuesday regulatory filing, UPS said the cuts are in "connection with our anticipation of lower volumes from our largest customer." The company, which announced $21.5 billion in revenue for this past quarter, expects to save $3.5 billion this year as a result of its consolidation plan.

In its quarterly earnings statement, the company also mentioned the risk that shifts in global trade policy could have on business. The Trump administration has introduced sweeping new tariffs in recent months that have already began to impact the flow of goods in and out of the country, and around the world.

UPS handles roughly 400,000 imported parcels each day, or roughly 2% of the packages they move on a daily basis. Still, the company could be impacted if the trade war between China and the U.S. continues.

"From a revenue perspective, last year, revenue on our China to U.S. trade lanes represented 11% of our total international revenue," said CEO Carol Tomé said during Tuesday's earning call. "Our China to U.S. trade lines are our most profitable trade lines."

Landon Caeli · Wednesday at 9:53 AM

Perpetual Student said:
"Retailers and manufacturers".
How is the American industry (you know: manufacturers) going to keep its people busy if there are raw materials or parts that don't come in anymore?

Of course there's going to be a temporary "hump" that we'll have to suffer over. Look to one of two solutions...

A.) More fair trade practices by those countries who haven't been treating us fairly.

B.) The development of new partnerships in countries that don't take advantage of the United States.

Landon Caeli · Wednesday at 9:55 AM

essentialsaltes said:
UPS cutting 20,000 jobs amid expected reduction in Amazon shipments
In a Tuesday regulatory filing, UPS said the cuts are in "connection with our anticipation of lower volumes from our largest customer." The company, which announced $21.5 billion in revenue for this past quarter, expects to save $3.5 billion this year as a result of its consolidation plan.

In its quarterly earnings statement, the company also mentioned the risk that shifts in global trade policy could have on business. The Trump administration has introduced sweeping new tariffs in recent months that have already began to impact the flow of goods in and out of the country, and around the world.

UPS handles roughly 400,000 imported parcels each day, or roughly 2% of the packages they move on a daily basis. Still, the company could be impacted if the trade war between China and the U.S. continues.

"From a revenue perspective, last year, revenue on our China to U.S. trade lanes represented 11% of our total international revenue," said CEO Carol Tomé said during Tuesday's earning call. "Our China to U.S. trade lines are our most profitable trade lines."

Yes, there is going to be a "price" to pay, in every situation where wrongs have to be fixed. Change is never a 100% smooth process from finish to end... But that doesn't mean change should never happen.

We simply cannot rely on our political enemies for our most essential items. Imagine depending on Russia to sustain our economy. How is China any different than Russia?

Landon Caeli · Wednesday at 10:04 AM

The longer we rely on countries like China, the more dependent we become of them. Now what happens in 80 years, when China decides to swallow up all it's neighbors, and becomes the #1 global power? How could we ever stop them from that point on?

The answer is that we have to suffer either a little now, or suffer massively later. Grow up you short-sighted Weaterners! We're dealing with a country who views situations in a much longer term than we're used to. You have to see the *BIG* picture, and stop blindly walking into walls.

essentialsaltes · Wednesday at 10:07 AM

Landon Caeli said:
We simply cannot rely on our political enemies for our most essential items.

Low-priced crap on the shelves at Target? That's not essential. But the low prices make a lot of Americans happy.

Rare earth metals? Well, we have a problem that ~70% of the world's supply comes from China, and neither the elements nor the mines to extract them can be poofed into place wherever we choose.

Landon Caeli · Wednesday at 10:28 AM

Laodicean60 said:
They won't, we are headed for a recession. But in the article "essentially all shipments out of China for major retailers," The underlined is loaded to me, it's like a half full or half empty comment. There is shipping, but reduced, and we are receiving what was agreed upon in the tariff deal.

And since 2023, US factories end 2023 on soft note amid signs of excess operating capacity

More friend-shoring is good. It will be a cultural shock, as Wing2000 mentioned, but it's needed now that China is a superpower. We'll have to learn not to be a throwaway nation, which will help the environment and conserve resources.

Or, or, or..... Maybe we're not receiving what was agreed upon in the tariff deal. Maybe the Chinese government initiated a pause on Chinese container shipments to the United States, in order to initiate panic, in hopes that they could create political change here in our country.

...Don't think they're above that! Since when have we shown we're not willing to pay the higher prices yet? We havent.

Landon Caeli · Wednesday at 10:36 AM

Does anyone here really think that Xi Jinping would not interfere with trade, considering that Trump just interfered with trade?

...Who here thinks he would simply do nothing in return?

durangodawood · Wednesday at 11:10 AM

Landon Caeli said:
......Grow up you short-sighted Weaterners!.....

I would tend to agree except we've got a situation where huge portions of Americans are living month to month and just about any price inflation that isnt matched by a wage increase really hurts. Its not like they will have to give up going out to restaurants etc. They already cant afford basic fun stuff that you and I can.

This country creates enormous wealth... yet somehow loads of working Americans cant touch it.

essentialsaltes · Wednesday at 11:13 AM

Landon Caeli said:
Does anyone here really think that Xi Jinping would not interfere with trade, considering that Trump just interfered with trade?

...Who here thinks he would simply do nothing in return?

Certainly China has responded with reciprocal tariffs and put export controls on rare earth elements.

essentialsaltes said:
U.S. agencies alarmed by China’s curbs on exports of rare earth minerals
Beijing’s curbs on rare earth exports, used to make military drones, consumer electronics, electric cars and more, have caused alarm across federal agencies.

essentialsaltes · Wednesday at 11:24 AM

essentialsaltes said:
Rare earth metals? Well, we have a problem that ~70% of the world's supply comes from China, and neither the elements nor the mines to extract them can be poofed into place wherever we choose.

Did I say 70%? For the heavy rare earths that China has restricted, they are effectively the only source on Earth.

The Consequences of China’s New Rare Earths Export Restrictions

The restrictions apply to seven medium and heavy rare earths: samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium. The United States is particularly vulnerable for these supply chains. Until 2023, China accounted for 99 percent of global heavy REEs processing, with only minimal output from a refinery in Vietnam. However, that facility has been shut down for the past year due to a tax dispute, effectively giving China a monopoly over supply.

Q4: Is the U.S. rare earths industry ready to fill the gap in the event of a shortfall?

A4: No. There is no heavy rare earths separation happening in the United States at present. Developing mining and processing capabilities requires a long-term effort, meaning the United States will be on the back foot for the foreseeable future.

Q5: Could the United States have seen this coming?

A5: Yes.

Port Of Los Angeles Warns 'Difficult Decisions' Ahead As Shipments From China Cease

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UPS cutting 20,000 jobs amid expected reduction in Amazon shipments​

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UPS cutting 20,000 jobs amid expected reduction in Amazon shipments​

Resist Islamic culture 100%

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U.S. agencies alarmed by China’s curbs on exports of rare earth minerals​

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The Consequences of China’s New Rare Earths Export Restrictions​

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