Mom-and-pop business face highest risk of shortages from Trump trade war with China with possibility of empty shelves by summer

Shoppers could begin seeing store shelves thinning out by the summer for imported goods shipped from China — with mom-and-pop businesses facing the highest risk of shortages, industry experts told The Post. US businesses began scaling back or canceling orders as President Trump ratcheted up the trade war with Beijing after returning to the White House.The volume of goods shipped from China that is scheduled to arrive at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach between the week of May 4 and May 10 has dropped 43%, compared to the same period last year, according to container-tracking software provider Vizion.The decline follows an increase of 57% for the week of April 20-26, the data showed, as importers frontloaded shipments ahead of Trump’s steep tariffs against Beijing. The administration had signaled a 54% on one of the country’s biggest trading partners on April 2 before jacking it up to 145% on April 9.“The small- and medium-sized retailers will have a harder time to mitigate the tariffs…and would be the first to run out of inventory,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy for the National Federation of Retailers.China accounts for about 54% of all US containerized imports from Asia – from electronics, toys, apparel, furniture and building materials.It generally takes two to three weeks to make the journey from China to the West Coast ports. “Things that can’t be inventoried, you’ll see (shortages) in a matter of weeks, maybe not even months,” Rita McGrath, strategic management scholar and professor at Columbia Business School, told The Post.“I also think you’ll start to see things become scarce during the the big summer holidays.”Wes Allen, who owns Sunlight Sports in Cody, Wyo.

said the uncertainty of Trump’s trade policy has made it impossible to plan ahead for new orders.The outdoor sporting goods company sells tents, sleeping bags, sports apparel and equipment that are all made in China.“...