Hi there, everybody. Happy Monday. It's 4 o'clock in New York. I'm guessing it's how Wiley Coyote felt, having vaulted over the cliff edge, suspended in midair, aware of what was about to happen, but unable to stop it from happening.

This afternoon, the American economy, like our friend Mr. Coyote, is in that spot in stasis, hovering

before a likely plunge. How far or how fast will fall as a matter of some debate. But people

involved in shipping, imports, and supply chain

planning and economics are making themselves very loud and very clear today that the first

dire signs of trouble are already here. Consider the sheer drop in volume among imports this

afternoon, stuff coming into our country.

Gene Soroka, executive director of the port of Los Angeles, suggesting arrivals could drop by 35% this week or next, as shipments out of China have, quote, essentially ceased.

Beyond the effect this will inevitably have on the price and availability of lots of things,

there are downstream effects on the entire economy as well. Watch.

How much are you going to see a real decline in dock workers if this goes on?

Yeah, this is the question. So the trucker hauling four or five containers today next week,

she probably hauls two or three.

The dock workers are no longer going to see overtime and double shifts.

They're going to probably work less than a traditional work week starting right off the bat.

Every four containers meet a job.

So when we start dialing this back, it's less job opportunities.

And what happens if we get a deal?

If we get a deal, it's going to take about a month.

Let me walk you through that real quick.

About two weeks to get the ships repositioned around these major ports, from Chingdao to

Shanghai to Jhameh, load up all those containers, and then another two weeks to steam across

...