Anxiety is high for truck drivers like Helen amid an unprecedented wave of tariffs. Helen makes a living by delivering cargo containers from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to warehouses and other customers around Southern California.
After a strong start to this year, employment numbers have recently begun to slip, with truck drivers hearing reports projecting a sharp decline in incoming cargo in May and June.
Helen, a 38-year-old mother, 38, said her family must grow to achieve her goals even under normal conditions.
“There’s a real concern that we’re struggling,” said Helen, a Downey resident who refused to give her last name because she was fearful that she might lose her job if she was deemed dissatisfied. “If there’s no ship in and no load, there’s no work. If there’s no work, there’s no money.”
As President Trump’s aggressive tariffs rattle business owners and shake up the foundations of American imports, men and women working on the ground at the country’s busiest ports are also seeing its effect.
Thousands of dock workers, heavy machinery operators and truckers cover 7,500 acres in San Pedro Bay and support activities in 2024 at the Port of Los Angeles, which handled more than 10 million 20-foot-long cargo units.
With China having a 145% tariff, Canada and Mexico having a 25% tariff, and dozens of other countries having a 10% tariff, it is expected that the flow of goods to the US will be dramatically slower.
Less transport to ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach means less work for Californians moving their cargo, said Raman Dillon, chief executive of Punjab trucking in North America.
“Truck drivers are scrambling now,” he said. “They are about to collapse. The administration needs to move quickly. Or it will be a mess and price hike and empty shelves.”
California Sen. Alex Padilla and two other Democrats called a press conference Thursday to condemn Trump’s tariffs, losing jobs, higher prices and stores losing products.
Dozens of agricultural exporters will hold conference calls this week to express fears about how tariffs and other countries’ retaliation collections will affect overseas markets.
“The decline in cargo volume caused by Trump’s tariffs means that if products don’t reach our stores, we will raise prices for everything from empty shelves, groceries to clothing and cars, and definitely more Americans won’t do their job,” Padilla said.
A 2023 report found that Los Angeles and Long Beach ports contributed $21.8 billion in direct revenue to local service providers, generating $2.7 billion in state and local taxes, and directly and indirectly creating 165,462 jobs.
A mere 1% decline in cargo to the port wiped out 2,769 jobs and puts as many as 4,000 other jobs at risk, the study found.
Last week, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, Jean Celoka said arrivals could drop by 35% over the next 14 days.
This threat is looming large for members of Ilwu Local 13, a union representing Longshoremen who unload cargo and support port operations.
“They just wonder what’s going to happen,” Ilw Local 13 President Gary Herrera said of his membership. “Some of the workforce won’t earn 40 hours a week based on cargo losses. Unemployment is definitely a concern.”
According to Herrera and port officials, there will be over 30 “blank sails” in May at ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles. This means 400,000 containers will be shipped from the port, officials said.
The imminent recession at Long Beach and Los Angeles ports comes shortly after twin facilities reported booming activity. Almost a third of all cargo containers delivered to the US travel to Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Navdeep Gill, who owns Northern California trucking company Ocean Rail Logistics, said his business is already moving between 60% and 70% less freight as a result of tariffs.
Gill truckers carrying goods from the Port of Auckland typically move 50 containers a week. Recently, they’ve been running 10 to 15, Gill said.
“When we’re not doing anything and the truck isn’t working, we lose money,” he said. His company carries industrial products, paper and food.
“We’re losing money because we have fixed costs like insurance that can’t be bypassed,” Gill said.
Ten container ships are expected at the Port of Los Angeles over a three-day period ending on Sunday. This is a decrease from 17 container ships that usually arrive every three days at this time, according to a memo from a group of merchants representing shippers.
“It will affect job opportunities not only for us, but for truck drivers, warehouse workers and logistics teams,” said Union President Herrera. “This is the ripple effect of not working on the waterfront.”
Helen said some of her fellow drivers wanted a better economy under Trump. Her husband also drives the truck to and from the port, so her own exposure is doubled. She is paid per load, so Helen’s income does not meet the minimum wage if there are too few jobs available.
“I feel it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” she said. “You feel this looming uncertainty, which is hanging from everyone.”
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