I've been hearing a lot of chatter about supposedly barren U.S. ports lately. Social media's been ablaze with claims that would make any economist's hair stand on end: America's shipping centers deserted, containers gathering dust, supply chains crumbling—harbingers of an economic meltdown that would make the Great Recession look like a minor hiccup.
As someone who's spent more hours than I care to admit poring over economic indicators, this caught my attention. Major shipping disruptions would indeed signal trouble ahead. But here's the thing—something about these claims just didn't smell right.
Where's the Beef?
First off, the evidence problem is glaring. Despite living in an age where documenting reality is as simple as reaching into your pocket for a smartphone, actual footage of these supposedly empty ports is... well, nowhere to be found.
What you'll find instead are breathless commentators standing in front of generic shipping footage (often years old, I checked), or content creators who promise to "expose" the empty port situation but somehow never quite get around to showing the emptiness. It's a bit like a restaurant promising you the world's best cheesecake but serving you a pamphlet about dairy products instead.
I called a buddy who works at the Port of Long Beach last week. His response? A laugh followed by, "Man, I wish. We could use a breather around here."
Reality Check, Please
Look, shipping data isn't particularly mysterious. We've got satellite imagery, vessel tracking systems, throughput statistics published by port authorities—this isn't exactly the kind of information that can be hidden from public view.
The Baltic Dry Index—a key measure of shipping costs—has been fluctuating, sure. But nothing in its movement suggests the apocalyptic scenario being peddled online. When I pulled the latest numbers yesterday, they showed typical seasonal patterns, not collapse.
What's actually happening (and this is admittedly less exciting than economic armageddon) is a rebalancing after the pandemic frenzy. Remember when you couldn't find toilet paper? Then remember when stores suddenly had too much of everything? That whiplash is still working its way through the system.
Fear Sells. Truth? Not So Much.
The economics of doom content are pretty straightforward. Frightening headlines drive clicks. Clicks generate revenue. It's the digital equivalent of the old newspaper adage: "If it bleeds, it leads."
I've been covering market trends since before YouTube existed, and I've seen this movie before. Remember Y2K? The 2012 Mayan calendar panic? The perpetual gold bugs who've predicted currency collapse every year since... forever?
Their businesses aren't built on accuracy—they're built on monetizing anxiety. Buy my newsletter! My gold coins! My freeze-dried apocalypse rations!
(And don't get me wrong—I keep a decent emergency fund myself. Preparedness is prudent. Panic is profitable... for someone else.)
Do Your Homework (I Did Mine)
For those genuinely concerned about the state of global shipping—and there are legitimate issues worth monitoring—I spent yesterday morning compiling some resources that might help:
The actual throughput data from major ports like Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York/New Jersey is published monthly. I checked the latest figures; they show expected seasonal patterns.
Quarterly reports from major shipping companies tell a story of adjustment, not collapse. Maersk's latest investor call (which I listened to while making dinner last Tuesday) mentioned challenges but nothing catastrophic.
Real-time container indices from Freightos and Drewry show fluctuations that align with normal market behavior.
Will these give you the adrenaline rush of a good end-times prophecy? Nah. But they will help you make better decisions about your business and investments.
The Logical Pretzel
There's something wonderfully contradictory about these empty port claims. On one hand, they suggest the evidence is so obvious that major shipping hubs are literally deserted. On the other, they imply this information is somehow secret knowledge that only special online prophets have access to.
If America's ports were truly empty, we'd be seeing mass longshoreman layoffs, immediate shipping company bankruptcies, and retail shelves emptying faster than during early pandemic panic-buying. My trip to Target yesterday showed none of this. (Though they were inexplicably out of my favorite coffee brand. Economic indicator or supply chain hiccup? Probably just my bad luck.)
Could I Be Wrong? Sure.
I've been humbled by markets enough times to maintain a healthy skepticism about both doomsday scenarios and perpetual sunshine forecasts. Sometimes the warning signs of major economic shifts are subtle. Sometimes the boy who cried wolf eventually encounters an actual wolf.
But my decades covering economic trends have taught me one reliable rule: extraordinary claims demand at least ordinary evidence. The "empty ports" narrative is swimming in claims while drowning in evidence.
For what it's worth, I'd suggest maintaining normal investment caution without panic-selling everything to build a bunker. And maybe—just maybe—apply the same level of skepticism to financial apocalypse videos that you would to emails from distressed Nigerian princes.
After all, if someone told you they'd discovered dragons but couldn't produce a single photo despite carrying a camera at all times... well, you probably wouldn't rush to invest in dragon-repellent.
