With the impending inauguration of Donald Trump, returning to the White House, there has been considerable attention focused on questions of what might happen to trade flow, particularly into the United States with threats of tariffs looming.

Concerns about levies on imported goods have been heightened with the announcement that Trump will be nominating a major supporter- Howard Lutnick, the CEO of financial services stalwart Cantor Fitzgerald, for the Secretary of Commerce post. Lutnick has been a major supporter of tariffs- particularly those aimed at China. There is also the potential that the Secretary of Commerce post could be linked up with the Office of the United States Trade Representative, though this is not clear from the initial announcements.

The monthly webcast from the Port of LA on a path to possibly achieve new records in container throughputs, bolstered at least partly by goods moving in while Biden is still in the White House- one visage of “The Trump Bump”. Hosted by its Executive Director Gene Seroka, the online briefing delved heavily into the possibilities of what might, or might not happen on the trade front once Donald Trump comes into office two months from now.

The Port of LA is already seeing record volumes handling 905,026 teu in October, up 25% on the same month in 2023, and the port’s fourth consecutive month of volumes in excess of 900,000 teu.