Uncertainty over trade tariffs is causing “hardship for consumers, businesses and labour”
The Port of Los Angeles has revealed that it processed 716,619 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in May, 5 per cent less than last year.
After ten consecutive months of year-over-year growth, overall cargo volume slowed due to the impact of tariffs on both imports and exports, the port said.
“May marked our lowest monthly cargo output in over two years,” Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said at a media briefing.
“While May volume is typically stronger than April as we approach our traditional peak season, our imports dropped 19 per cent compared to last month.
“Unless long-term, comprehensive trade agreements are reached soon, we’ll likely see higher prices and less selection during the year-end holiday season,” Seroka added.
“The uncertainty created by fast-changing tariff policies has caused hardships for consumers, businesses and labour.”
Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at The Budget Lab at Yale, joined Seroka for the briefing to discuss the impacts tariffs have had on American consumers.
“The Budget Lab has been modelling the impact of tariffs on American households since the first announcements earlier this year,” he explained.
”Tariffs would raise average prices by 1.5 per cent, a loss in purchasing power of nearly US$2,500 per household per year.”
May 2025 loaded imports came in at 355,950 TEUs, 9 per cent less than the previous year.
”Loaded exports landed at 120,196 TEUs, a 5 per cent drop from 2024, and the port processed 240,472 empty container units, 2 per cent more than last year.
After five months in 2025, the Port of Los Angeles had handled 4.06mn TEUs, 4 per cent more than the same period of 2024.
