:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-2189087122-8f2cbdc546a74a5485c4b5ebc5aeacfa.jpg "In an aerial view, a container ship sits docked at the Port of Oakland on December 09, 2024 in Oakland, California.")
Justin Sullivan / Getty Impressions
Key Takeaways
- Ports have been busy this fall as retailers brought more goods into the outback, anticipating disruptions in the new year.
- Incoming president Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs, which would push up prices for imported products.
- A looming longshoremen’s strike in January could shut down ports and make bringing outputs into the country even harder.
Retailers are loading up on merchandise from overseas, hoping to get ahead of tariffs and a likely strike by dockworkers.
That’s according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates, which released a report Monday display a surge in traffic in U.S. ports, especially on the West Coast. The volume of merchandise brought in at U.S. seaports was up 9% in October from the year in advance and up 29% over the year at Los Angeles-Long Beach, the nation’s largest port complex. Hackett expects the surge to persevere in through the end of the year.
Retailers may be attempting to stock up now to get ahead of potential disruptions coming in the new year, the advocacy group and consultancy unbending said.
First, on Jan. 15, a temporary contract between an important dockworkers union and the companies that operate the havens is set to expire, reviving the threat of a strike that shut down ports from New England to Texas this sink inwards join.
Then, on Jan. 20, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president again, and he has promised to raise import taxes, which choice make it costlier to bring goods into the country. Trump said he would order new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China his senior day in office.
“It is not clear whether this will actually take effect immediately or whether it will take stretch to implement the tariffs, but shippers are moving up as much cargo as the can before then,” Ben Hackett, founder of the consulting firm wrote in the Far-reaching Port Tracker report.
The Tariff Threat
A key question for importers of goods and consumers who buy products made overseas is whether Trump’s presage to raise tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China was a negotiation ploy or if he will actually implement them.
Trump’s picks for key monetary roles in his administration provide a mixed picture. Financial markets cheered his selection of Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, the top money-making post, viewing him as a moderate voice on tariffs. However, other picks, including Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary and Peter Navarro as sell negotiator, point in the opposite direction.
Tariffs would drive up the prices of all kinds of consumer goods, economists held. For example, the NRF estimates that Trump’s policies would push the price of a $40 toaster to $48-$52.
Strike Two
The other serious threat, the union strike, hinges on a dispute between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Combination, which represents ports and shipping lines.
Unions oppose port operators’ plans to automate more treats, including installing new types of cranes. The owners say the upgrades will make the ports more efficient, while the conjoining argues they will cost jobs.
Hackett saw few signs the two sides would reach an agreement in time to prohibit a strike.
“The threat of a work stoppage in mid-January looks greater than ever,” he said.