If you were in the retail business, you know the last quarter is your biggest quarter because of the holiday season of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In order to have product, you need to order the goods during the summer.

In an article by Reuters, the Port of LA set a new 3-month volume record during June, July and August. Retailers were trying to avoid new tariffs and higher fuel costs.

Halloween costumes, Thanksgiving decor and Christmas gifts are among the goods that surged into US seaports a few months earlier than usual this year. Earlier this year the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs, President Trump signed an executive order to replace the tariffs, but it did not take affect until September.

Waterfront workers at the Port of LA handled 955,907 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), taking the 3-month total to 2.9 million TEIs. Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of LA said June was likely the peak month.

Retailers typically account for half of container shipping volume.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, if you believe President Trump, the tariffs were needed to ensure more things were manufactured in the US, but companies ran the numbers and still import from other countries and pay the tariffs. If you noticed most of the tariff refund went to companies, not countries. The companies put money into buying more goods, into their companies as some ate part of the tariff, they received the money back.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.