IMPORT & EXPORT
Import Scares, Supply-Chain Snares—How to Navigate Tariff Uncertainty
By Dorothy Crouch, Contributing Writer | September 19, 2025
California Apparel News asked experts in fiber, yarn and fabric: How have you navigated through proposed and implemented tariffs that impact your business from raw materials to finished goods?
Cargo Container Volumes Expected to Grow Modestly This Year
Despite massive congestion problems plaguing the West Coast ports earlier this year, cargo-container volumes for imported goods are expected to rise 4.2 percent this year compared with last year.
Port Traffic Up for Back-to-School Season
Cargo volumes at the nation’s ports are seeing a healthy upswing as retailers start stocking their shelves for the Back-to-School season.
How a New Free-Trade Agreement Would Affect U.S. Textile and Clothing Makers
One of the biggest free-trade agreements ever negotiated by the United States could be a done deal by the end of this year. But it is still unclear how the Trans-Pacific Partnership will affect textile and apparel makers that manufacture in the United States.
Port Container Volumes Return to Normal After West Coast Congestion Problems
In May, the Port of Long Beach saw its container volumes jump 4.8 percent over the same month last year while the Port of Los Angeles said its container volumes barely budged, rising only 0.8 percent in May over the previous year.
Los Angeles Underwear Importer Pleads Guilty to Drug Money Laundering
Nine months after agents busted a long-running Mexican drug money laundering operation in the Los Angeles Fashion District, an underwear importer has pleaded guilty to several offenses linked to the scheme.
UPDATE: Port Contract Ratified by Shippers and Longshore Workers
Members of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, and International Longshore & Warehouse Union, which represents Longshore workers, voted to ratify a new five-year contract.
How Are Apparel Importers Adjusting Their Strategies for the Next Big Shipping Season?
Hundreds of apparel importers are recalibrating their logistics plans before the next big shipping season hits in July.
Costa Rica Gets First Cotton Spinning Mill
SAE-A, the largest apparel manufacturing company in South Korea, has opened a cotton spinning mill in Costa Rica, which is the first for the Central American country.
Europe’s Tariff on Women’s U.S.-Made Blue Jeans Inches Up
Europe has slightly increased a retaliatory tariff that it imposes on women’s blue jeans imported from the United States.
Port Truckers Strike for Better Wages and Full-Time Employee Status
More than 200 truckers tired of being classified as independent contractors rather than full-time employees walked off the job and have been picketing around port terminals, rail yards and customer warehouses.
ILWU Delegates Approve Tentative Agreement for Members’ Vote
The five-year tentative contract agreement between longshore workers and their employers has been given the thumbs up, paving the way for a vote that will set the contract in stone.
East Coast Ports Benefited from West Coast Cargo Diversions
In a sign of how bad the port congestion problem grew on the West Coast this January, East Coast ports ended up handling 45 percent of the cargo containertraffic that entered the United States, up from 36 percent during the same month last year.
What’s Up for Solving the Ports’ Congestion Problems
Even though a labor dispute has been tentatively resolved, port officials in the Los Angeles area admit it will take at least three months to deal with the traffic jam of goods that has plagued the watery transportation centers since October.
Around the World at Sourcing at MAGIC
The South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center turned into the United Nations for the semiannual Sourcing at MAGIC show, which ran Feb. 16–19.
Ports Still Clogged With Waiting Ships
Hammering out a tentative contract with longshore workers took nine months of negotiations. Now importers are hoping it doesn’t take as long to clear thebacklog of merchandising floating on the water outside the country’s largest ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
