Port of Los Angeles volume down 12% in January

The Port of Los Angeles experienced a 12% decline in volume for January 2026, according to Eugene Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles.

Seroka was speaking at the Port’s media briefing on Feb 17th.

He made the following observations:

• Imports were down 13% from 2025 levels at 421,000 container units;
• Exports were down 8% from 2025 levels at 104,000 container units;
• China trade through the Port is down to 40% after being at 60% in 2018;
• Trade from other Southeast Asian countries has compensated for the losses of trade with China. 
• Exports to China, he described as “dismal,” with one of the biggest declines showing up with soybeans, where exports through the Port were down 80% in 2025.

Economist Chad Bown, a leading authority on tariffs and US-China trade and a Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute of Economics, said that uncertainty continues to plague US business leaders and their investment strategies due to the impact of Trump administration tariffs.

Bown pointed out that right now tariffs are being paid by someone in the United States that includes companies reducing profit margins and not passing on the increased price of the imported product. This would help explain why prices have not yet risen substantially.

In addition, he said, mitigating the higher prices of imported products caused by the Trump tariffs is occupying a great deal of time and energy for companies and their executives.

This has the negative effect of taking time and energy away from developing investment strategies, spurring new growth.

In 2026, Bown said that three major events will impact US trade:

1. The impending Supreme Court decision on the legality of the imposition of tariffs by the Trump administration.
2. The meeting with President Trump and Chinese President Xi in April could result in new trade deals.
3. Review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in July, which could result in major changes in the trade relationship with the two countries, and the United States adding to business uncertainty.

Bown pointed out that if the Supreme Court rules that the tariffs were imposed illegally by the Trump administration, then billions of dollars will have to be refunded, which will result in what he described as a very uncertain process of repayments.

Bown said this refunding must occur even if the Trump administration finds other alternative justifications for reimposing the tariffs.

Bown added that the Supreme Court might also anticipate the administration’s move to alternatives by signaling whether those alternatives are legally justified.