The month of May is typically a busy time at U.S. ports, but this year container import volumes dropped in May after several months of growth, falling 9.7% from April and 7.2% year-over-year, according to a report from Descartes Systems Group.
The shift was striking because it made 2025 the only year in the past seven years when May volumes posted a month-over-month decrease, apart from pandemic 2020.
According to Descartes, that decline marks the first significant contraction reflecting the impact of tariff volatility and growing trade pressures. As proof, the report found that imports from China in particular declined by 20.8% over April—the steepest monthly decline since covid-era March 2020—and by 28.5% compared to May 2024, Descartes said in its “June Global Shipping Report.”
Another market change in May was a shift in port dynamics, as East and Gulf Coast ports gained market share over West Coast ports that experienced the brunt of much lower China-origin volumes. Port delays remained steady across most major gateways, though Los Angeles and Long Beach experienced increases despite lower volumes.
“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,” Jackson Wood, Descartes’ Director of Industry Strategy, Global Trade Intelligence, said in a release. “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.”
