Erika D. Smith, Columnist

West Coast Ports Are Feeling the Pain of Tariff Theater

From Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles all the way up to Seattle, shipping is slowing — and casting a pall over the cities that rely on it.

June 7, 2025 at 12:00 PM UTC

By Erika D. Smith

Erika D. Smith is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She is a former Los Angeles Times columnist and Sacramento Bee editorial board member.

Gotta keep things moving.
Photographer: Tim Rue/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

On a normal day in June, about a dozen ships, most newly arrived from Asia, would be docked at the Port of Los Angeles. Workers would be busy unloading cargo, directing the containers to trucks, trains and planes bound for businesses and warehouses across the US. But no day has been normal since the start of President Donald Trump’s roller coaster of a trade war.

“You’re seeing what’s been noticeable to us over the last several weeks,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, on Wednesday, nodding toward the sprawling San Pedro Bay and the equally struggling Port of Long Beach in the distance. “During the past seven days, we’ve averaged about five ships. Job orders for our dock workers … are down nearly 50%.”