Over the next four weeks leading into the summer, Seroka said that the Port of Los Angeles expects volumes to come in around 70-80% of what's considered normal.

When volumes slow at ports, the ripple effects are felt everywhere, from longshoremen getting fewer hours working on docks, to truck drivers who suddenly don't have any cargo to move.

The Houthis had initially agreed to cease its strikes against any ships without direct ties to Israel in late January, before resuming attacks in mid-March.

Port Canaveral operates as a major hub for Florida's cruise ship industry, as well as for SpaceX and Blue Origin, which rely on the port to offload and transport recovered launch vehicle components.

Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said "essentially shipments out of China for major retailers and manufacturers have ceased."

The Panamanian president, Jose Raul Mulino, said that toll fees were regulated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous governing body that oversees the trade route.

While fees may not immediately impact operators because cranes can last about 20 years, there's little choice for places to buy ship-to-shore cranes elsewhere.

“The U.S. is unreasonable, bullying and imposing tariffs abusively,” the postal service said in a statement posted to the Hong Kong government’s website.

Aponte and his family-controlled Terminal Investment Ltd. are the main investors in a consortium looking to buy 43 ports from Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings.

A strike would be a blow to South Africa’s moribund economy, at a time when President Donald Trump’s universal tariffs are threatening to upend global trade.