The Port of Los Angeles is expected to see a 15% decline in cargo activity this year compared to 2019, it was announced Wednesday.
Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said the port moved more than 9.3 million cargo units in 2019, and this year it is anticipated to move about 7.9 million.
“Less cargo means fewer jobs here at America’s port, and we’re watching this very closely, where every job is important to our families, our children, our neighbors and the well-being of our harbor enclave,” Seroka said. “Our labor shift work for our longshore groups is down 18% compared to the same time period in 2019.”
The port’s imports are down 13.7% for the first half of 2020 compared to the comparable period last year; and down nearly 7% in June compared to the same month last year. Exports were down 21% in June and 18% for the first half of 2020 compared to last year, Seroka said.
He said the port is operating at about 80% to 85% of its expected capacity during this time of the year, but he also said trade has been affected by recent U.S. policies and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seroka noted that President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an executive order that seeks to place sanctions on China — the port’s largest trade partner — due to its interference with Hong Kong. The two nations struck a trade deal late last year, but Seroka said talks regarding a second trade deal seem to be going nowhere, which he said was “disappointing.”
Seroka said the goals set in the first trade deal are falling short, as an estimated $34 billion worth of sales in the agriculture industry needs to take place with China before the end of September, and right now it’s expected to be between $8 billion and $10 billion.
“The two largest economies in the world need to work together as trading partners, and through this bilateral series of negotiations and isolating ourselves, we seem to have given sales leads to every other trading nation in the world,” Seroka said.
Seroka also said there are no plans at this time for the U.S. Navy’s hospital ship Mercy to return to the Port of Los Angeles to serve as an overflow station for land-based hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but that could change if Mayor Eric Garcetti and Gov. Gavin Newsom decide it’s necessary.