“You could hear a pin drop, it’s very unusual,“ Port Director Gene Seroka told AFP.
Along with the next-door Port of Long Beach, the area represents the biggest gateway in the United States for goods from China and the rest of Asia.
Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs -- and the retaliation launched by other countries -- has cowed importers, whose usual orders for furniture, toys, and clothing have dwindled.
The Port of Long Beach says for the entire month of May it is expecting a 30 percent drop in imports.
“Many retailers and manufacturers alike have hit the pause button, stopping all shipments from China,“ said Seroka.
And while sales may not be going up this year, prices undoubtedly will.
Empty shelves
He reversed course a few days later and left a blanket 10 percent rate against most of the planet.
“This is not just a West Coast issue,“ warned Long Beach Port Director Mario Cordero.
At the start of the year, Long Beach and Los Angeles saw American companies scurry to get ahead of tariffs that Trump promised on the campaign trail.
But as the tariffs begin to bite, they will undoubtedly hold buying to eat into that inventory.
“American importers, especially in the retail sector, are telling me that they have about five to seven weeks of normal inventory on hand today,“ he said.
“The impact on American consumers will be less choice and higher prices,“ he said.
'We're angry at Donald Trump'
As the owner of a small trucking company, he needs to replace the starter on one of his vehicles; the part, made in China, now costs twice as much.
“We’re angry at Donald Trump. He needs to go check out the country a little bit, because he has a lot of angry truck drivers.
Between skyrocketing maintenance costs and the fall-off in work, he estimates he could be laying off staff within six months.
“I thought that he was a businessman.
“Now we have something worse than inflation, called tariffs.”
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