Descartes Systems Group, a global provider of logistics technology, has released its June Global Shipping Report, highlighting a 9.7 per cent drop in US container imports in May 2025 compared to April.
This marks the steepest monthly decline since March 2020 and a 7.2 per cent fall year-on-year (YoY).
Imports from China fell sharply by 20.8 per cent from April and 28.5 per cent from May 2024, significantly impacting West Coast ports, which lost market share to East and Gulf Coast counterparts.
Port delays remained largely stable, although congestion increased at Los Angeles and Long Beach despite lower volumes.
READ: US imports grow to 2.4 million TEUs despite tariffs
Total imports for May stood at 2.18 million TEUs, making it the only May in the past seven years, excluding pandemic-affected 2020, to record a month-on-month (MoM) decline.
While import volumes are still 4.3 per cent above May 2019 levels, the downturn reflects growing trade tensions and tariff uncertainty.
Cumulative imports for the first five months of 2025 remain 5.3 per cent higher than the same period in 2024, though the growth margin is narrowing.
US imports from China declined to 637,001 TEUs in May 2025, down 20.8 per cent from April and 28.5 per cent YoY.
China’s share of total US containerised imports fell to 29.3 per cent — its lowest level in over two years.
Nearly all major US ports recorded a sharp decline in China-origin volumes, with Long Beach and Los Angeles seeing the largest drops at 31.6 per cent and 29.9 per cent, respectively.
Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes, said: “After several months of import growth and following a wave of frontloading of shipments in April, the impact of new tariffs began to materialise in May. The effects of US policy shifts with China are also now clearly visible in monthly trade flows.
“While the 90-day agreement between the two countries to lower tariffs may bring US importers some short-term relief, China-origin imports may continue to soften in the months ahead as organisations continue to reassess sourcing strategies amid rising landed costs, and as changes to the US de minimis regulation for low-value Chinese imports continues to add cost pressures to trade.”
