President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on tariffs could be ending early this month. For truckers at Southern California’s ports, that could mean even more economic uncertainty.
The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are entering peak season. Cargo ships from overseas are usually packed with things like back-to-school supplies and holiday gifts.
Trucking companies say there has recently been a slight uptick in containers coming in from overseas. (Sunny Tsai / FOXBusiness)
Both ports say they are seeing a slight uptick in containers coming ahead of that new tariff deadline. But, some trucking companies Fox spoke with are still worried about the long-term impact these trade policies could have on their industry.
"They weren’t going to ship, let’s just say a quarter-full vessel, which is extremely expensive to bring out here. So that just tells you that no one's buying," said California Trucking Association President Robert Loya.
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are two of the country’s busiest. But, for the truckers tasked with getting goods to their final destinations, they say business has been down for quite a while.
"It’s a tough deal, especially over the last two and a half years, as the market has been declining, and we’ve been in this freight recession," said Loya.
The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are entering peak season. (Sunny Tsai / FOXBusiness)
Loya added that now, on top of other things, trade tensions are taking a toll on his industry.
"Imagine if you were losing 80% of your income. It’s pretty difficult for them to survive financially, right? So a lot of truck drivers actually started doing something else. And so, they leave the industry because they just didn’t know. It was unknown when these tariffs were actually going to get resolved, if the freight was going to come back," said Loya.
And experts say truckers will continue to feel the pain over time.
"Companies end up investing less in their workforce, which lowers productivity in the long run. And if you lower productivity, in economic terms, that means that your wages are going to go down," said Budget Lab at Yale Director of Economics Ernie Tedeschi.
Trucking companies are cautiously optimistic this current surge will last through September. (Sunny Tsai / FOXBusiness)
Matt Schrap, the CEO of Harbor Trucking Association, said before truckers can bounce back, they need some clarity on trade policy going forward.
"Without looking at increased volumes, we will see more trucking companies going out of business. So we need certainty to be able to plan and ideally invest back into our companies," said Schrap.
He added that trucking companies are cautiously optimistic this current surge will last through September. But he also said that a lot depends on what happens after that 90-day pause on tariffs.