Trade War Toll: China Import Slump Drains U.S. Port Volumes
U.S. ports are hemorrhaging container traffic as China imports cratered 16% amid escalating tariffs. The Port of Long Beach reports across-the-board declines, with Los Angeles echoing the trend. Truckload rates—van, flatbed, refrigerated—all turned negative in October, erasing earlier inventory-driven surges.
‘The holiday shipping wave looks virtually non-existent,’ says DAT’s Ken Adamo. Electronics, furniture, and toy shipments wither while soybean exports bleed to Brazil. August trade data reveals a $18.4B import plunge post-tariff implementation, shrinking the deficit by 23%.
Cryptocurrency markets watch for Ripple effects: stablecoin demand may fluctuate as trade liquidity shifts, while blockchain supply chain tokens like VET or XDC could see renewed interest in tariff-proof logistics solutions.
