"At this time, it is too early to tell if trade sanctions are negatively impacting Port NOLA (New Orleans) cargo numbers," spokesman Donnell Jackson said in an email. As for US exports to China, Braden said first-quarter data showed a 19.3 percent decline from 2017 to 614,588 TEUs. Jock O'Connell, a trade adviser at California-based Beacon Economics, said the top five US ports for Chinese imports last year were Los Angeles/Long Beach (California), New York/New Jersey, Savannah (Georgia), Tacoma (Washington) and Oakland. Nearly $314 billion in Chinese goods bound for the US was shipped by sea in 2017 O'Connell said. If tariffs or other restrictions on trade remain in effect for several months or even years, the impact on a large segment... could be devastating."