Adolfo Guzman-Lopez covers higher education for the LAist and KPCC newsroom.
A crane stands above the Ever Macro cargo container ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles on Sept. 13, 2025. In his monthly briefing Thursday, the leader of the massive Port of L.A. complex said the port shutdowns in the Persian Gulf and slowdowns in European and Asian ports caused by the U.
S.-Israeli war with Iran are not rippling to Southern California. “We right now don't see any of that congestion happening, but it just may,” said Port of L.A. Executive Director Gene Seroka. “No one has the answer at this point in time of how long this war is going to continue and for what duration the Strait will remain closed.”An L.A. County employee makes the allegation in a whistleblower complaint and in interviews about the response to the deadly fire. County officials dispute the allegations.“Do’s federal bribery conviction was the tip of the iceberg,” said his successor, Supervisor Janet Nguyen. She called for further investigation by law enforcement.Eviction defense for tenants at risk of homelessness was set to end March 31 if the city didn’t award a new contract. Shipping across the Pacific Ocean to U.S. ports on the West Coast, Seroka said, is so lucrative that companies are making sure container ships are not delayed. Most of the trade through the port complex is with China, Japan and Vietnam.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.“I don't think you're going to see a significant impact on the West Coast,” said Ron Widdows, a former ocean carrier CEO who joined Seroka during the briefing. The war with Iran will mark its second week Saturday. The conflict’s economic upheaval has upended politics and economies in the Middle East. European and Asian countries are feeling the ripple effects as trade along the Strait of Hormuz has slowed.The war’s effects on rising prices at gasoline stations in the U.S. is also leading to price increases in cargo ship fuel, known as“Those bunker prices effectively doubling right now are passed on almost immediately, and in some cases with a 30-day notice, to shippers, they'll be passed on to the cost of those goods,” Seroka said.For now, container volume at the Port of L.A. is good, with 812,000 container units moving in and out of the L.A. port last month. “That's about 3% higher than last year and 11% above the five-year average for February, both positive signs,” Seroka said. A disruption in trade through the massive SoCal port would affect hundreds of thousands of jobs in the five-county Southern California region. Port of L.A. trade accounts for 17% of all waterborne container international trade into the U.S. You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead . Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community. Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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