{"id":120923,"date":"2026-03-12T21:48:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T00:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shipping.einnews.com\/article\/899052556"},"modified":"2026-03-12T21:48:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T00:48:07","slug":"despite-iran-war-cargo-continues-to-flow-on-west-coast-la-port-chief-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/12\/despite-iran-war-cargo-continues-to-flow-on-west-coast-la-port-chief-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite Iran war, cargo continues to flow on West Coast, LA port chief says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With the supply chain still wading through tariff uncertainties \u2014 and now a U.S.-launched war in Iran \u2014 questions of cargo flow and rising fuel prices took center stage at a virtual news conference held by Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka on Thursday, March 12.<\/p>\n

The situation is being closely watched, Seroka said. But so far, he said, it is not causing problems at West Coast ports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re monitoring the situation closely,\u201d he said, adding that so far, there have been no disruptions to U.S.-bound cargo because of the distance and lack of direct routes generally from that region.<\/p>\n

Even so, the spikes in fuel costs \u2014 along with remaining uncertainty surrounding tariffs \u2014 are generating a focused concentration within the industry as a whole, Seroka said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith so many developments affecting supply chains \u2014 from the conflict unfolding in the Middle East to the Supreme Court tariff ruling and broader trade policy shifts \u2014 there\u2019s real uncertainty across the industry right now,\u201d Seroka said. \u201cEven so, manufacturing flows serving the United States continue to move, and we\u2019re not seeing disruption to U.S.-bound cargo today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seroka\u2019s guest, however \u2014 Ron Widdows, a former ocean carrier CEO who leads one of the nation\u2019s leading chassis companies \u2014 said impacts on shipping are certainly being felt elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen an impact like this,\u201d said Widdow, who has worked in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Even the Iran-Iraq \u201call-out\u201d war in the 1980s, he said, \u201cdidn\u2019t have the (supply chain) disruption we\u2019re seeing (in that region) today.\u201d<\/p>\n

But impacts are regional, he said, and ships calling at the Port of L.A. are not directly affected.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The overall) impact on fuel is gargantuan,\u201d Widdow added. \u201cIt certainly is affecting the region widely and not just in the Persian Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cargo in that region, Widdows said, is having to be moved to different ports. The longer the war goes on, he said, the more port connectivity and cargo could wind up being affected.<\/p>\n