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The busiest port in North America is actually two ports. Nearly a third of everything the U.S. imports or exports in containers over water comes through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Officials say there was a big bump in business early this year as companies rushed to ship goods here before the new tariffs. But now that tariffs on China are in place, with potentially more to come, some workers are already suffering, as Kelly McEvers reports.
KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: So I'm walking along this road. It's, like, two miles from the port, but it is like the artery for all of the trucks going in and out of the port. They come in, they pick up the load, they come out, they drop it off to where it needs to be. And then all along the side of the road, the trucks are parked, either taking a break, getting some lunch or just waiting until they get a call to go back and pick up another load.
I climb up into the cabin of one big rig and talk to the driver, Joel Duenas (ph).
I'm curious about business. How are things going?
Horrible, he says, using an adjective I can't repeat. Up until recently, Duenas says he made about $1,000 a day. Now he makes 300. That's because even though there has been a big jump in cargo ahead of the tariffs, there's a lot of uncertainty about what will happen next.
The Harbor Trucking Association, which represents West Coast trucking companies, says companies further up the shipping chain are raising costs on them because of that uncertainty. And in turn, trucking companies are lowering the rate they pay drivers. Duenas says he's hoping for a Hail Mary, but doesn't think there'll be one.
What are you thinking about the future?
JOEL DUENAS: I don't know. Go back to school.
MCEVERS: Go back to school for what?
DUENAS: Something else - trucking ain't it.
MCEVERS: Duenas says he can still make rent but barely. To do that, he has to work 15 to 18 hours a day. Gene Soroka is executive director of the port of Los Angeles. He recently told reporters he's aware that companies up and down the chain, from retailers to transporters, are skittish. He says, now that the tariffs on China have kicked in, things could get even worse.
GENE SOROKA: I anticipate a drop of at least 10% in our cargo volume from July until the end of this year. But that drop-off could begin as early as next month, in May.
MCEVERS: Hauling cargo is a big employer across the country. Here in Southern California, officials say these ports account for 1 in 8 jobs. Soroka says he doesn't think there'll be mass layoffs at the port, but he thinks people like truckers, longshore members and custom house brokers will all get less work and fewer hours.
SOROKA: The bottom line is this. The ripple effect of these tariffs will be felt by all of us, and there's no way around that.
MCEVERS: For NPR News, I'm Kelly McEvers in Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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