California’s port traffic is beginning to look worse now, under the effects of President Donald Trump’s fickle tariff policy, than it did at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The vessel calls, or cancellations, that we’re seeing today (are) starting to exceed the number that we saw in COVID-19,” Mario Cordero, chief executive of the Port of Long Beach, said in an interview with CalMatters in early May.

At Port of Los Angeles, Executive Director Gene Seroka said during a media briefing last week that the port expected 80 ships to arrive in May, but 17 have been canceled. By comparison, last year through May there were a total of 12 cancellations. There are 10 cancellations for June already, he added.

Farther north, the Port of Oakland saw a 15% month-over-month drop in container acti

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