‘We told you he would be a train wreck’: Largest port in the US becomes a ghost town thanks to Trump’s tariffs

Thanks to Donald Trump the port of Los Angeles has come to a complete standstill as shipments from China have ceased, leaving the usually bustling port a ghost town.

Supermarket shelves could start looking a little more sparse in the coming weeks as the full effects of Trump’s trade tariffs are felt across the country. The Los Angeles Port Executive Director, Gene Seroka, told CNBC that shipping volume is set to drop by a worrying 35% next week.

Barely any cargo ships are moving

Shipments from China make up almost half (45%) of all business that comes through the port. As you can imagine, Trump’s ongoing trade war with the country has meant that goods between the two aren’t going anywhere. The ridiculously expensive tariffs the president has slapped on goods has led the Chinese government to cease trading with the U.S. altogether. The man has no idea what he’s doing does he?

One individual on TikTok showed the shocking difference between the busiest port in China (Shanghai) vs the busiest port in America (Los Angeles) using a real time tracker. Business is still booming in China, (albeit still with a significant number of docked ships). Meanwhile, the U.S. shows barely any cargo ships leaving the port with most docked.

This could have major ramifications for Americans

As you can imagine, this is not good news for the average consumer in America. With a huge chunk of imports simply not arriving retailers will soon be running out of stock. Seroka claims that it will be about five to seven weeks until retailers feel the effects of missing shipments although that doesn’t mean it’s time to start panic buying as it won’t quite be as bad as it sounds.

“I don’t see a complete emptiness on store shelves or online when we’re buying. But if you’re out looking for a blue shirt, you might find 11 purple ones and one blue in a size that’s not yours. So we’ll start seeing less choice on those shelves simply because we’re not getting the variety of goods coming in here based on the additional costs in place.”

On X people labeled the whole thing a disaster with @AesPolitics1 writing, “We told you he would be a train wreck.” Others saw the drop-off in shipments as proof that Trump’s tariffs are having seriously negative effects on the American economy and the people.

To be fair, they’re not wrong. Trump’s policies have been disaster after disaster and even his recent backtracks have done little to undo the mess he’s made. The president needs to act fast, he needs to negotiate with China, grovel if he has to, and come to some sort of agreement, otherwise it’s going to be bad news for the U.S.