- May 2025 Marks the First Significant Monthly Drop Since the Pandemic-Era 2020.
- East and Gulf Coast Ports Gain Market Share as West Coast Volumes Tumble.
- Port Delays Rise in Los Angeles and Long Beach Despite Lower Volumes.
Descartes reports that on June 9, 2025, ATLANTA, Georgia, Descartes Systems Group, a leading name in connecting logistics-heavy businesses in commerce, has released its June Global Shipping Report aimed at logistics and supply chain professionals.
Container Import Volumes Take a Hit in May 2025
In May 2025, U.S. container import volumes experienced a notable drop after several months of growth, decreasing by 9.7% from April and 7.2% compared to the previous year. According to Descartes, U.S. imports totalled 2,177,453 TEUs, marking the first May in the last seven years, excluding the pandemic-affected May 2020, to see a month-over-month decline in container volumes.
While demand is still 4.3% higher than pre-pandemic levels in May 2019, this downturn underscores the increasing pressures from changes in trade policy. The gains seen earlier in the year are now showing signs of reversal, with total imports for the first five months of 2025 up 5.3% compared to the same timeframe in 2024, although that growth is starting to slow.
Significant Drop in Imports from China
One of the most striking findings in the May report is the sharp decline in U.S. imports from China. Volumes from China plummeted by 20.8% from April, dropping from 804,122 TEUs to 637,001 TEUs, this marks the steepest monthly decline since March 2020. Year-over-year, the drop was even more pronounced at 28.5%.
China’s share of total U.S. containerised imports fell to 29.3%, its lowest point in over two years. This decline was felt across major U.S. ports, with Long Beach and Los Angeles experiencing the largest decreases, 31.6% and 29.9%, respectively.
Shifts in Port Dynamics as East and Gulf Coast Ports Gain Ground
As imports from China dwindled, East and Gulf Coast ports gained market share in May, surpassing West Coast ports that were hit hardest by the slowdown in trade with China. Interestingly, even though the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handled fewer volumes, they faced increased delays, which is contrary to the trend observed at most other major U.S. gateways, where delays remained relatively stable.
Tariffs and Trade Policy Start to Show Impact
“After several months of import growth and following a wave of frontloading of shipments in April, the impact of new tariffs began to materialize in May,” said Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes.
“The effects of U.S. 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 U.S. importers some short-term relief, China-origin imports may continue to soften in the months ahead as organizations continue to reassess sourcing strategies amid rising landed costs, and as changes to the U.S. de minimis regulation for low-value Chinese imports continues to add cost pressures to trade.”
Access the Full Report and Additional Resources
The June report marks Descartes’ forty-sixth monthly shipping analysis since launching the series in August 2021. For access to past reports, insights into the logistics and economic factors shaping global shipping, and strategies to help navigate short- and long-term disruptions, visit Descartes’ Global Shipping Resource Center.
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Source: Descartes
