• SMU new site announcement banner
  • Skip to main content

    Shipping and Logistics

    Tariffs Causing Short-term Boom at U.S. Ports

    Written by Sandy Williams


    Tariffs are turning out to be a boon for U.S. ports, at least temporarily, as retailers and manufacturers rush to get products to the U.S. before new tariffs on China go into effect in January.

    Ports reported record cargo volumes in the past few months. The Port of Los Angeles set a cargo handling record in October of 952,554 TEUs (containers of twenty-foot equivalent units). TEU imports rose 26.72 percent in October year-over-year, and overall volume in the first 10 months of 2018 rose 1.1 percent to 7.7 million TEUs.

    Latest in Shipping and Logistics