Job opportunities at the Port of Los Angeles are dwindling as President Trump\u2019s steep tariffs take a hit on global trade and a major economic engine for the regional economy.<\/p>\n
Nearly half of the longshoremen who support operations at the port went without work over the last two weeks, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said in an interview. <\/p>\n
The port processed 25% less cargo than forecast for the month of May, he said.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s tariffs have drastically stemmed the flow of goods<\/a> into the U.S., driving down activity at the neighboring ports of L.A. and Long Beach, which collectively processed more than 20 million 20-foot-long cargo units last year.<\/p>\n The two ports are the largest in the country and provide jobs for thousands of dockworkers, heavy equipment operators and truck drivers. <\/p>\n But work has fallen off sharply in recent weeks. Over the last 25 work shifts, only 733 jobs were available for 1,575 longshoremen looking for work.<\/p>\n \u201cThey haven\u2019t been laid off, but they\u2019re not working nearly as much as they did previously,\u201d Seroka told The Times. \u201cSince the tariffs went into place, and in May specifically, we\u2019ve really seen the work go off on the downside.\u201d<\/p>\n Marine terminal operators post available work opportunities, known as job orders, on a digital board at the port three times a day. Longshoremen can review the job orders at each shift and bid on the jobs they want to take. If there are more longshoremen than job orders, a portion of workers will go without pay.<\/p>\n The average of 733 job orders posted over the past 25 shifts, which is equal to roughly two weeks, is unusually low.<\/p>\n Ordinarily, between 1,700 and 2,000 job orders are posted during a typical day shift, and between 1,100 and 1,400 are posted during a standard night shift. <\/p>\n Seroka attributed the decrease in job opportunities to lower cargo volume<\/a> moving through the port. <\/p>\n In May, 17 cargo ships canceled their planned trips to Los Angeles amid uncertainty over duties the Trump administration imposed worldwide.<\/p>\n Although May is typically a busier month than April, this past May saw 18% less cargo processed than the month prior, according to port data. <\/p>\n The falloff comes during a critical time in advance of the Christmas shopping season, orders for which are usually placed before July 1. <\/p>\n Conditions are not expected to significantly improve anytime soon. <\/p>\n \u201cThe June numbers that we\u2019re projecting right now are nowhere near where they traditionally should be,\u201d Seroka said.<\/p>\n An average of five ships have entered the port each day over the last week. This time of year, there would typically be between 10 and 12 ships in the port each day.<\/p>\n \u201cThe drop in cargo volume caused by Trump\u2019s tariffs will mean empty shelves when products don\u2019t reach our stores, rising prices<\/a> on everything from groceries to clothes to cars, and undoubtedly, more Americans out of work,\u201d U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California said in a news conference last month.<\/p>\n The decline in shipping has broader ripple effects on L.A.\u2019s logistics economy.<\/p>\n