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Seattle ports are currently empty, will be interesting to see if this holds true . https://seemorerocks.substack.com/p/port-of-seattle-empty-zero-inbound https:

Seattle ports are currently empty, will be interesting to see if this holds true . https://seemorerocks.substack.com/p/port-of-seattle-empty-zero-inbound https://seemorerocks.substack.com/p/port-of-seattle-empty-ze...

thehoff 1y ago
I hate to be so cynical these days....but if this is true, that would mean a lot of dockworkers/longshoreman are out of jobs or not working right? Truck drivers, and who knows what other jobs are just not doing anything at this point?
- trymas 1y ago
  I think there were already multiple posts on HN about this. Most recent I remember UPS firing 20 000 people. Edit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43835849 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43835849
  - toomuchtodo 1y ago
    This was because UPS let an Amazon delivery deal roll off that was not profitable. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000109072725000046/exhibit991-earningspressre.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000109072725... https://about.ups.com/us/en/newsroom/press-releases/financials/ups-releases-4q-2024-earnings-and-provides-2025-guidance.html https://about.ups.com/us/en/newsroom/press-releases/financia...
    - wavefunction 1y ago
      UPS said it was because shipping volumes at Amazon are down, so it's not-profitable because shipping-volumes are down. lol
- rdtsc 1y ago
  > I hate to be so cynical these days....but if this is true, that would mean a lot of But since we’re being cynical, is importing stuff just to keep the port workers busy a good idea?
  - louthy 1y ago
    Because that’s the only reason things are imported?
    - rdtsc 1y ago
      No but it's presented as the major problem to solve. There are lot larger issues at play and if keeping pork workers buys is the goal, then we should have them load and unload empty boxes /s
      - profmonocle 1y ago
        I don't think OP was specifically stating we need to save these specific jobs, rather they were pointing out the interconnected nature of the economy. Less importing hurts the workers in those industries. Taking that further, it will hurt businesses near the ports where the workers may have gotten lunch, etc. etc. etc. That's how recessions look at a microeconomic scale.
        rdtsc 1y ago
        > rather they were pointing out the interconnected nature of the economy. Less importing hurts the workers in those industries. Well I agree with that phrasing however the OP said it as: > to be so cynical [...] that would mean a lot of dockworkers/longshoreman are out of jobs or not working right? That leads to a different interpretation and sounds like something else than what you said (which I agree with).
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - thehoff 1y ago
- throw310822 1y ago
  Dockworkers, logistics, truck delivery drivers, warehouse workers, etc. On the other hand, I guess it might be a great time for small shops and businesses that produce low to medium tech stuff- from crafts, clothing and furniture to electronics. Even if the country's going to suffer they should profit handsomely (which is not a bad thing per se).
  - bitmasher9 1y ago
    Except those businesses relay heavily on imported materials. For example, no one is weaving cotton into fabric in the US at any scale.
    - rad_gruchalski 1y ago
      Well… it’s the best time to start? I guess that’s what the MAGA Sun is hoping for.
      - rtkwe 1y ago
        Who's going to invest in a business that's only profitable as long as we keep these insane tariff level up and will take several years to spin up? (Plus where are they going to get the machines to do the actual work? Those are being tariffed too!)
        rad_gruchalski 1y ago
        I don’t know. Maybe MAGA Sun knows.
      - pixl97 1y ago
        Yea, the bank is just going to love to hand out money with the amount of political and economic uncertainty injected into the system....
        rad_gruchalski 1y ago
        If the bank can not finance your stuff maybe Trump knows some people who can borrow you money? On preferential conditions, of course… who knows, maybe he gets into loan business himself.
- perihelions 1y ago
  But, China itself is automating away most of those jobs. It's a stark difference between Chinese and Western—just look at the phraseology we're using, without thinking about it: "out of jobs"; in China's zeitgeist they wouldn't say they lost jobs to technology, they say they "saved 80 percent of manpower" [0]. [0] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1304443.shtml https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1304443.shtml ("China’s first self-built fully automated dock enters operation in Qingdao, Shandong Province" (2023))
  - doctorwho42 1y ago
    Because their centralized government seems to have a purpose other than gaining power and wealth.
    - 9rx 1y ago
      Even where power and wealth is the sole purpose, "saving labor" to allow them to move into new jobs with higher meaning to your power/wealth would be your default take. "Job loss" is the position only when you've stopped innovating and can't imagine that there is anything else people can do.
    - philipallstar 1y ago
      It's just people commentating differently depending on what "team" they think the target of the comment is on - people who think socialism is probably a good idea, but bemoan any automation done by private industry that causes job losses. However they will love China's efficiency doing the same thing.
    - cjbgkagh 1y ago
      What do you think gaining power and wealth looks like? To me the Chinese central government seem hyper-fixated on it and it is working out well for them. Making strategic dual-purpose investments is directly aligned with gaining power and wealth.
  - ebruchez 1y ago
    True or not, be aware that "The Global Times is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the People's Daily, commenting on international issues from a Chinese nationalistic perspective." (Wikipedia)
- ChainOfFools 1y ago
  Intermodal freight drayage industry, which is largely comprised of a thousands of very small and ineffocoently run mom and pop nepo-companies run dependent upon an open tolerance of very scammy business tactics extending temporary surcharges indefinitely, milking covid business relief loans to the fullest extent possible) in order to survive, is going to experience a mass die-off if this tariff war lasts another 6 to 9 months.
juujian 1y ago
Can't wait to find out...
xyst 1y ago
> Remember what I told all of you about stocking up on stuff and arbitraging it later once the shelves were emptied? Well...we're just about there. Price gouging is so hot rn…
razepan 1y ago
This SS post is fear porn. The Seattle Times article they link to at the bottom of their post gives actual numbers, not just vibes based on what poster can see with their binoculars. "Data from the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound, an industry association, shows the number of arriving container ships berthing at Seattle and Tacoma terminals from April 1 to April 24 was down 12% compared with the same period in 2024." Make no mistake this is bad, but "Port of Seattle EMPTY - ZERO Inbound Ocean Container Ships" is some straight up bullshit.
- ceejayoz 1y ago
  Trump only announced the tariffs on April 2, and the crossing takes weeks, and some traffic will left later than that having gambled that it'd be undone in transit. (Some of it was!) The stat for "April 1 to April 24" is likely to be different than the stat on April 27th alone. Both may be true. The port does look pretty empty on https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.373/centery:47.599/zoom:13 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.373/c... Your stat also includes Tacoma, a close but different port. The Port of Seattle isn't quite empty, but numbers... aren't awesome. https://www.king5.com/article/news/verify/what-we-can-verify-about-port-of-seattle-ghost-town-rumors/281-4c678f85-0987-4929-a62d-8fc27ab397b3 https://www.king5.com/article/news/verify/what-we-can-verify... > Northwest Seaport Alliance Port of Seattle Commissioner, Ryan Calkins, said the future does not look as good. "The last forecast I saw was forecasting out over the next three months, and each month was forecasted to be down around 25% per month,” Calkins said. The Seaport Alliance said some ships are coming in with less cargo than anticipated. In some cases, it is 30% lower.
  - asah 1y ago
    Port of LA: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-118.168/centery:33.733/zoom:13 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-118.168/c... NJ: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-74.148/centery:40.668/zoom:14 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-74.148/ce...
polyomino 1y ago
lies, source: I looked out my window
jjulius 1y ago
>Seattle ports are currently empty... At the time of my response, there are five container ships in Eliot Bay, and a large container ship, along with a smaller container ship that just arrived, docked at Harbor Island (the primary port in question). https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.338/centery:47.596/zoom:13 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.338/c...
timmytokyo 1y ago
[flagged]
flustercan 1y ago
I am literally looking at a port with many containers and a fully loaded ship waiting to unload more containers at the port of Seattle right this second. (based on other replies I guess I'm not the only one in Pioneer Square lol)

thehoff 1y ago

I hate to be so cynical these days....but if this is true, that would mean a lot of dockworkers/longshoreman are out of jobs or not working right? Truck drivers, and who knows what other jobs are just not doing anything at this point?

trymas 1y ago
I think there were already multiple posts on HN about this. Most recent I remember UPS firing 20 000 people. Edit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43835849 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43835849
- toomuchtodo 1y ago
  This was because UPS let an Amazon delivery deal roll off that was not profitable. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000109072725000046/exhibit991-earningspressre.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1090727/000109072725... https://about.ups.com/us/en/newsroom/press-releases/financials/ups-releases-4q-2024-earnings-and-provides-2025-guidance.html https://about.ups.com/us/en/newsroom/press-releases/financia...
  - wavefunction 1y ago
    UPS said it was because shipping volumes at Amazon are down, so it's not-profitable because shipping-volumes are down. lol
rdtsc 1y ago
> I hate to be so cynical these days....but if this is true, that would mean a lot of But since we’re being cynical, is importing stuff just to keep the port workers busy a good idea?
- louthy 1y ago
  Because that’s the only reason things are imported?
  - rdtsc 1y ago
    No but it's presented as the major problem to solve. There are lot larger issues at play and if keeping pork workers buys is the goal, then we should have them load and unload empty boxes /s
    - profmonocle 1y ago
      I don't think OP was specifically stating we need to save these specific jobs, rather they were pointing out the interconnected nature of the economy. Less importing hurts the workers in those industries. Taking that further, it will hurt businesses near the ports where the workers may have gotten lunch, etc. etc. etc. That's how recessions look at a microeconomic scale.
      - rdtsc 1y ago
        > rather they were pointing out the interconnected nature of the economy. Less importing hurts the workers in those industries. Well I agree with that phrasing however the OP said it as: > to be so cynical [...] that would mean a lot of dockworkers/longshoreman are out of jobs or not working right? That leads to a different interpretation and sounds like something else than what you said (which I agree with).
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- thehoff 1y ago
throw310822 1y ago
Dockworkers, logistics, truck delivery drivers, warehouse workers, etc. On the other hand, I guess it might be a great time for small shops and businesses that produce low to medium tech stuff- from crafts, clothing and furniture to electronics. Even if the country's going to suffer they should profit handsomely (which is not a bad thing per se).
- bitmasher9 1y ago
  Except those businesses relay heavily on imported materials. For example, no one is weaving cotton into fabric in the US at any scale.
  - rad_gruchalski 1y ago
    Well… it’s the best time to start? I guess that’s what the MAGA Sun is hoping for.
    - rtkwe 1y ago
      Who's going to invest in a business that's only profitable as long as we keep these insane tariff level up and will take several years to spin up? (Plus where are they going to get the machines to do the actual work? Those are being tariffed too!)
      - rad_gruchalski 1y ago
        I don’t know. Maybe MAGA Sun knows.
    - pixl97 1y ago
      Yea, the bank is just going to love to hand out money with the amount of political and economic uncertainty injected into the system....
      - rad_gruchalski 1y ago
        If the bank can not finance your stuff maybe Trump knows some people who can borrow you money? On preferential conditions, of course… who knows, maybe he gets into loan business himself.
perihelions 1y ago
But, China itself is automating away most of those jobs. It's a stark difference between Chinese and Western—just look at the phraseology we're using, without thinking about it: "out of jobs"; in China's zeitgeist they wouldn't say they lost jobs to technology, they say they "saved 80 percent of manpower" [0]. [0] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1304443.shtml https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1304443.shtml ("China’s first self-built fully automated dock enters operation in Qingdao, Shandong Province" (2023))
- doctorwho42 1y ago
  Because their centralized government seems to have a purpose other than gaining power and wealth.
  - 9rx 1y ago
    Even where power and wealth is the sole purpose, "saving labor" to allow them to move into new jobs with higher meaning to your power/wealth would be your default take. "Job loss" is the position only when you've stopped innovating and can't imagine that there is anything else people can do.
  - philipallstar 1y ago
    It's just people commentating differently depending on what "team" they think the target of the comment is on - people who think socialism is probably a good idea, but bemoan any automation done by private industry that causes job losses. However they will love China's efficiency doing the same thing.
  - cjbgkagh 1y ago
    What do you think gaining power and wealth looks like? To me the Chinese central government seem hyper-fixated on it and it is working out well for them. Making strategic dual-purpose investments is directly aligned with gaining power and wealth.
- ebruchez 1y ago
  True or not, be aware that "The Global Times is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the People's Daily, commenting on international issues from a Chinese nationalistic perspective." (Wikipedia)
ChainOfFools 1y ago
Intermodal freight drayage industry, which is largely comprised of a thousands of very small and ineffocoently run mom and pop nepo-companies run dependent upon an open tolerance of very scammy business tactics extending temporary surcharges indefinitely, milking covid business relief loans to the fullest extent possible) in order to survive, is going to experience a mass die-off if this tariff war lasts another 6 to 9 months.

juujian 1y ago

Can't wait to find out...

xyst 1y ago

> Remember what I told all of you about stocking up on stuff and arbitraging it later once the shelves were emptied? Well...we're just about there. Price gouging is so hot rn…

razepan 1y ago

This SS post is fear porn. The Seattle Times article they link to at the bottom of their post gives actual numbers, not just vibes based on what poster can see with their binoculars. "Data from the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound, an industry association, shows the number of arriving container ships berthing at Seattle and Tacoma terminals from April 1 to April 24 was down 12% compared with the same period in 2024." Make no mistake this is bad, but "Port of Seattle EMPTY - ZERO Inbound Ocean Container Ships" is some straight up bullshit.

ceejayoz 1y ago
Trump only announced the tariffs on April 2, and the crossing takes weeks, and some traffic will left later than that having gambled that it'd be undone in transit. (Some of it was!) The stat for "April 1 to April 24" is likely to be different than the stat on April 27th alone. Both may be true. The port does look pretty empty on https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.373/centery:47.599/zoom:13 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.373/c... Your stat also includes Tacoma, a close but different port. The Port of Seattle isn't quite empty, but numbers... aren't awesome. https://www.king5.com/article/news/verify/what-we-can-verify-about-port-of-seattle-ghost-town-rumors/281-4c678f85-0987-4929-a62d-8fc27ab397b3 https://www.king5.com/article/news/verify/what-we-can-verify... > Northwest Seaport Alliance Port of Seattle Commissioner, Ryan Calkins, said the future does not look as good. "The last forecast I saw was forecasting out over the next three months, and each month was forecasted to be down around 25% per month,” Calkins said. The Seaport Alliance said some ships are coming in with less cargo than anticipated. In some cases, it is 30% lower.
- asah 1y ago
  Port of LA: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-118.168/centery:33.733/zoom:13 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-118.168/c... NJ: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-74.148/centery:40.668/zoom:14 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-74.148/ce...

polyomino 1y ago

lies, source: I looked out my window

jjulius 1y ago

>Seattle ports are currently empty... At the time of my response, there are five container ships in Eliot Bay, and a large container ship, along with a smaller container ship that just arrived, docked at Harbor Island (the primary port in question). https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.338/centery:47.596/zoom:13 https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-122.338/c...

timmytokyo 1y ago

[flagged]

flustercan 1y ago

I am literally looking at a port with many containers and a fully loaded ship waiting to unload more containers at the port of Seattle right this second. (based on other replies I guess I'm not the only one in Pioneer Square lol)