Ocean freight volumes from Asia to the United States are unsurprisingly declining heavily, as the fallout from recent Trump tariff increases continues.
Depending which report you read, China’s US-bound container bookings are down between 30% and 60%, with exports from other Asian countries falling by between 10%-20%.
As a result, hundreds of advanced bookings have been cancelled and carriers have been blanking numerous sailings, with at least three transpacific service loops already postponed indefinitely.
One report published on CNBC’s website this week suggests that between the last week of March and the first week of April, US imports from China fell by 64% and exports to China fell by 36%.
Chinese exports may have recovered slightly after Trump confirmed a temporary exemption for certain consumer electronics.
Transpacific exports from other Asian countries may rally in the next few weeks, as American importers look to beat the 90-day higher tariffs postponement.
However, the chaos caused by the US/China trade war is already being felt by carriers, who will need to seriously look at realigning capacity should the situation continue.
The team at Global Freight Services are monitoring developments closely.
