Economic Impact of the Port of Long Beach & Effects of Tariff Uncertainties
Amidst volatile global trade conditions and shifting US tariff policies, the Port of Long Beach released a timely new study analyzing the Port’s economic impact in Southern California and beyond—finding that commerce at the Port of Long Beach supports 2.7 million jobs nationwide, contributes $309 billion to the GDP, generates $84.4 billion in tax revenue, and moves cargo to every US congressional district. VX News excerpts a May 12 press conference featuring Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Port of Long Beach CEO, Mario Cordero, Board of Harbor Commissioners President Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair of the Long Beach Economic Partnership Weston La Bar and Alba Wheels Up's, Vincent Iocapello, and others, who elaborate on the Port's far-reaching economic benefits as well as the drastic and immediate impacts uncertain US tariff policies are having on port operations and the logistics industry and anticipated supply chain disruptions absent stable, certain and long-term US trade strategy. Watch the full press conference online, here
“We have timely and revealing economic analysis that underscores just how critical this port is, not only to our city or even to our state, but to our entire national economy and the health and economic well-being of the United States of America.”
Mayor Rex Richardson: All right, now that we see just how impactful the Port of Long Beach has been—this is fresh data over the past five years—it’s important for us to now acknowledge the moment that we’re in. There’s no denying it. We’ve entered the reality of a new tariff era.
While the administration has decided to reduce tariffs from 145% to 30% on China just this morning, let’s be clear: we need certainty. There will be a great deal of uncertainty for the workforce, buyers, and suppliers. This is still a crisis of our own making that we need to address through long-term, long-range, strategic, and stable policymaking. We know that there have been impacts. Just this morning, we held a roundtable with workers and businesses to understand the impacts of tariffs, and the damage—we’re seeing the damage. Damage is done. We’ve seen ships that never sail. We have containers that sit empty. American businesses and consumers are preparing and beginning to pay the price for these policies.
The rollback is a step that should be acknowledged, but recovery will not be immediate. It will take weeks, if not months, to untangle the backlog and stabilize the system. That’s why stable, long-range trade policies are essential for success, not limited to our local economy, but our nation. The reality is these tariffs on imports from China are already showing real-world consequences, and nowhere is that more visible than right here in the City of Long Beach, at the Port of Long Beach. As these new policies take effect, we have timely and revealing economic analysis that underscores just how critical this port is, not only to our city or even to our state, but to our entire national economy and the health and economic well-being of the United States of America.
Data shows 2.7 million jobs across the United States are directly supported by trade that moves through the Port of Long Beach. These jobs in warehousing, trucking, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, retail, and even education all move through the Port of Long Beach. They also account for $176 billion in personal income, $300 billion in contributions to the national gross domestic product. These are not abstract numbers. These are American livelihoods. These are American families. These are American communities that rely on our port to remain competitive.
The analysis was launched more than a year ago as part of our regular review of the port’s economic impact, but arrives now at a very critical moment, giving us real, hard data about what’s at stake as we evaluate new trade policy and new tariffs that threaten to disrupt our long-term trade flows.
Let me be clear: we support the goal of strengthening domestic manufacturing. We support the goal of American economic strength and believe in the power of American-made goods. We believe that we are a port that is a gateway for United States imports—from soybeans that head to Iowa, to pork and beef from Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and beyond. But trade is a two-way street. The Port of Long Beach doesn’t just serve Southern California but also serves the American economy. It’s a national asset, and any policy that disrupts the flow of trade here risks undermining the very economic growth it seeks to achieve.
Locally, our port is the foundation of Long Beach’s identity and prosperity. It supports tens of thousands of jobs in our city alone. It fuels industries across the region. Nationally, it connects U.S. products to global markets. It keeps our shelves stocked in every corner of our country. Long Beach is proud of the role that we play. We remain hopeful that, for the sake of millions of American workers, decision-makers in Washington realize what is truly at stake and work toward solutions that strengthen, not stall, our economy.
What we truly seek is stability. What we want to defeat is uncertainty. Uncertainty impacts our ability for workers to be able to keep a roof over their heads and put food on their tables. It threatens investment in our port, big infrastructure investment. It threatens our ability to continue to chart toward a zero-emission economy. All of this depends on certainty, and uncertainty is at an all-time high right now in our region. We encourage the administration to continue to focus on long-range, stable economic policy.
Bonnie Lowenthal: Today’s message is extremely important. The cargo moving through the Port of Long Beach sustains jobs across regions and throughout the United States. As you’ve heard, it spans a wide spectrum of industries. But the occupations go far beyond the docks. The jobs are in retail, online sales, warehousing, and transportation. They’re also in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, finance, technology, and more.
We’re talking about 2.7 million jobs providing $176 billion in income. We’re helping to put America to work. We’re proud of that. We want to maintain that. In fact, we want to grow. We can’t emphasize enough the Port’s crucial role as an economic engine for the region, the state, and the country. And it’s our job to keep that engine running smoothly.
For example, we’re investing $368 million in capital expenditures just this year, modernizing our infrastructure in the interest of efficiency and the environment. That’s not just a flash in the pan—it’s a normal year for us.Over the next ten years, we’re planning $3.2 billion in capital improvements.
The influence of the Port of Long Beach on the national economy is far-reaching, with 15 percent of all United States container cargo moved across our docks.
In this analysis released today, we see why every American has a stake in what happens at the Port of Long Beach—and how investments in an efficient and sustainable supply chain here in Long Beach can spread benefits to every corner of the country. As Port leaders, we know that keeping the Port of Long Beach competitive, financially stable, and environmentally sustainable is what allows our partners in labor and industry to move so much cargo and to create so many jobs.
Did you know that the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists the Port of Long Beach among the top 12 U.S. ports for waterborne export of agricultural products such as soybeans, cotton, corn, and other commodities? It adds up to more than $8 billion annually in agricultural products.
We can also see that various parts or materials imported at the Port of Long Beach are used by American manufacturers to make products that they can export to other countries. The Port of Long Beach and its partners—many of whom you see here today—remain dedicated to supporting the United States economy by keeping the goods moving reliably and efficiently. We do it to support jobs.
Mario Cordero: So, we've known from our previous economic reports that trade moving through the port generates jobs. And when we talk about the economy, there's two fundamental metrics that we're always looking to: consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of our economy and jobs.
Needless to say, when we talk about these figures of 2.7 million in the national supply chain and/or 1.1 million in the state supply chain, it’s a significant number. And as President Lowenthal said, that 2.7 million jobs across the United States are supported by the trade when it comes to direct and indirect and induced jobs.
But let's break this down further, and I'm talking about that number 2.7 million.
So, if you take Orange County and Los Angeles together, that number breaks down to 543,000 jobs, which essentially is 1 out of 17 jobs in these two counties. If you look to the Southern California region, which consists of five counties, that number is 691,000 jobs, directly or indirectly from the Port Long Beach. And as has been referenced, when we look at the state, that number is 1.1 million.
Now take a look at the state. When we talk about the 1.1 million jobs that derived from the Port Long Beach, if we have a 10% reduction in cargo—it's a primary question we should ask ourselves today— there's a 10% reduction in cargo, that means there will be a 10% reduction in jobs. That's a six figure number. 100,000 jobs are at stake if there's a 10% reduction in cargo.
This year, the Port of Long Beach had four very, very strong months. Some of you may know that in the first quarter 2025, Long Beach was the busiest container port in the United States, but we are starting to see now low cargo volumes, potentially 30% down.
Now, again, the good news is there's discussions currently between the USA and China, so let's step back and see what happens. But the fact of the matter is, uncertainty remains, and I think what this industry is calling for that we have certainty and clarity with regard to what that tariff policy looks like in the mid- and long- term.
Just to give you a context of the commodities that come through the Port of Long Beach: 20% of our refrigerators that come into the country come through the Port of Long Beach. Computers and smartphones are in that same percentile. It’s about 30% of microwaves and 80% of televisions. It gives you an insight into how important this complex is, and this port is to the average American and the average consumer.
With significantly reduced cargo volumes, it's likely that the consumer will have fewer choices. As we've indicated, this is why we are issuing this economic impact report, or revision from the prior report, again to r emphasize how important this port is, not only to the city of Long Beach, the state of California, but the nation overall.
We also have critical, crucial links to the international supply trade, and which, again, need to be carefully calculated, and we need to be deliberate in our policies. Because in the current environment, as you are aware, the headlines are, there's a lot of uncertainty. The markets fluctuate. The good news, the markets are up after the announcement of some progress on discussions. But nevertheless, uncertainty continues.
Audience Questions: How is cargo down? Are ships not arriving? Ships out of China? Are they sitting in the water? The latest on the supply chain? How has this impacted the port? Has it crippled the port?
Rex Richardson: I was out earlier last week watching some of the last tariff-free ships come into our ports. We've seen cancel orders already take place—and think about what that does to our entire logistics and supply chain continuum. That means fewer people being called into work. That means fewer ships that they can count on, not only from the docks, but to the warehouses and to the trucks and to all that creates an economic impact with ground zero here in the city of Long Beach.
So yes, we've already begun to see the impacts here. We want to acknowledge the [tariff] reduction from 145% to 30%, but some of this damage is already done from the threat of the 145% tariff. This morning was there was another order with a recommendation of 30% but let's be clear, this does not add more certainty for us. We need to know. We need to understand what the conditions of trade are, because there are a number of companies and industries that will make plans based on what the framework of policy is, and so what we need is long-range, stable policy.
We have seen the impact, and we stand in solidarity against disruptive, short-term policy making that impacts the port. Our initial analysis is that we anticipate 30% reduction from record breaking highs to seeing a 30% reduction in our port and cancel orders is an immediate impact.
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We're going to ask Mario to come and just talk a little bit about what we've seen in terms of cancel orders and how abrupt since the tariff conversation has taken place, how abrupt the drop off has been.
Mario Cordero:
Let me give you a context so that you understand why the red flags are being raised. In good times, year 2024, we had record cargo at the Port of Long Beach, 9.6 million [containers], the best in our 113 year history.
And as I indicated earlier, first quarter 2025 Port of Long Beach moved the most container volume in any port in the country. In that period, you would see about three vessels at some of our container terminals. I'm talking about vessels at birth, loading and unloading. What happened last week?
If you go back to approximately 5:10pm, Friday, with the latest report issued by the Marine Exchange. And those of you who may not be familiar, the marine exchanges are like air traffic controllers at an airport. They see all the dynamics, what's coming, what's not coming. And the news on Friday was that for the 12 hours preceding that report, there were zero vessels departing China.
That is a big red flag. Why? Well, number one, China is the epicenter of manufacturing. Cargo moves consistently out of those ports. The ports in China are essentially 24/7, so to have a 12-hour period where there's no vessel departing from any Chinese port to the USA that should be concerning. Probably one of the reasons why the meetings that were held this weekend in Geneva seem to have a glimmer of hope in terms of moving in a positive way. It's a lose-lose situation or a non-win situation for your country.
Let me give you one last data. I mentioned in good times, we have about 20 vessels who have arrived at the Port of Long Beach on a given week. So, the low point that we saw in the first week of May that number was 14. We went from 20 to 14, if this continues, that is why I think you're hearing that the potential of repeating what we witnessed in COVID with no products on the shelves and people losing their jobs. So, I think the concerns are not just based on anecdotal commentary, it's based on hard data.
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Rex Richardson: Just so we're clear, there is no certainty still today, everything could change with a stroke of a pen on every single day, what we need is long range trade policy. If you need to purchase a car seat, you need to know whether that is $100 or $245 that makes a big difference for folks.
Press question: are you seeing an uptick in demand for bonded warehouses, and are more facilities looking to convert to bonded warehouses? Are you seeing more goods abandoned at the port?
Weston LaBar: Hi I’m Weston LaBar. I'm the chair of the Long Beach Economic Partnership, also Chief Strategy Officer of Waterfront Logistics. We operate 600,000 square feet of warehousing next to the port, and we have a huge demand right now for bonded warehousing.
I think the thing that you have to keep in mind it there are different types of bonds, and you have to work through a very long and cumbersome process with Customs and Border Patrol. So, our biggest fear in that process is that we may get permits right about the time they're not needed anymore. We're going through this process right now.
If we permit our facility to be bonded, and there's no bonded cargo, not only did we miss out on helping the shippers coming into the nation that are trying to navigate the trade war, but then we have a whole bunch of space that we can't use once it's been bonded if there's no bonded cargo. So, there's a little bit of two ends to that right now for an operator, but I can tell you, if we bonded all 600,000 square feet of our warehousing, we would have 600,000 square feet of bonded cargo today.
Press question: When do you expect the new lower tariffs on China to be reflected in possible increased tariff traffic at the port? How long does it usually take businesses to make adjustments based on whenever there are changes to tariffs.
Vincent Iacopella: Hi, I'm head of strategy at Alba Wheels Up here in LA custom broker, freight forwarder. On the front lines my customers are importers and exporters. We've already seen a huge demand even before the news, just on whispers of the news last week that importers will front load, especially because we have this kind of reboot in 90 days, so they want to front load and get as much inventory as they can at 30%.
As was previously mentioned by others in the group, it's a little harder to make longer term investments and sourcing decisions without the long-term certainty, but there is a short-term advantage. And look, we're in Long Beach, right? We have a really short, Trans Pacific transit time from Asia to Long Beach, so you can pivot very quickly, especially if the goods are already manufactured. We can be here in 15 days, right?
There are some questions out there. The executive order was released this morning, and experts all over the country are parsing it. There are some questions whether some of these might be retroactive, which is not decided yet. You might be able to go back on these duties. That's not 100% decided yet. The short answer to this question is, I think we will see a surge similar to Q1 when we had that April 2 start date, and customers were front loading, and we are in a short enough transit time on Trans Pac back to see that. So, I would expect that. Front loading means that I have to get the goods on the water, or actually, depending how it’s defined, the goods have to leave Asia during this 90 day period to get the lower 30% so you'll see a surge to beat the 90-day expiration. It's a rush.
