Gifts will arrive in time for the holidays, but they will be more expensive

Consumers don’t have to worry about products arriving in time for the holidays, though they may face higher prices, officials at a major U.S. port say.

Imports at the Port of Long Beach continue to flow smoothly through its facilities despite the government shutdown and tariff uncertainty, the port’s chief executive said. Still, they admit that the volume and prices of products in the millions of containers going through the port show that imports have become more expensive and consumers are more cautious.

Until now, retailers, manufacturers and other intermediaries have absorbed most of the cost of the tariffs, but that is changing as it becomes clear which tariffs are here to stay, Mario Cordero, CEO of the Port of Long Beach, said during a virtual news conference Friday.

“Consumers will likely see price increases in the coming months as carriers continue to charge tariffs on goods and a higher percentage of those costs will be passed on to consumers,” he said.

Cordero, who drinks Starbucks coffee, said he has seen a 15% increase in the price of a cup of coffee and that more consumers are going to stores to find deals. However, potential price increases may be avoided if the US and China strike further trade agreements.

The Port of Long Beach, a trade gateway between the United States and the Asia-Pacific, has released new data that provides a glimpse into how President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs are affecting imports from key trading partners such as China.

This week, the US Supreme Court also began hearing arguments as justices examine the legality of Trump’s tariffs.

In the past year, the port has seen a decline in the movement of containers filled with specialty items such as winter clothing, kitchen appliances and toys that people typically buy as gifts, a sign that shoppers are likely to be cautious about spending.

Still, the impact of tariffs on cargo volumes is not as bad as some experts predicted. Cordero said some experts had estimated the port would see a 35% drop in cargo volume.

“Obviously today, it’s fair to say that some of the worst-case scenarios that have been predicted have not happened,” Cordeiro said. “The challenges have been many, and there is no doubt that many companies and their workers have faced them, but the volume of cargo this year is as high as last year.”

In fiscal year 2025, which runs from October 2024 to September 2025, the port surpassed 10 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the first time, an 11% increase over the same period last year. TEU is a measure used to describe cargo capacity for container ships and terminals.

While the port saw a decline in TEUs movement in October compared to the same period in 2024, Cordero said he thinks the port will end 2025 in “positive territory.”

In October, 839,671 TEUs were shipped. This is because retailers and shippers are starting to ship goods earlier than normal to avoid fees and stocking their warehouses due to tariffs.

The Port of Long Beach is an economic engine for California. Officials say it helps create 691,000 jobs in Southern California. They say more than 2.7 million US jobs are tied to the Port of Long Beach.