April Sees Dramatic Rise in U.S. Container Imports Amid Tariff Concerns

U.S. container imports showed extraordinary resilience in April 2025, hitting 2.4 million teus—a 1.2% uptick from March and a notable 9.1% increase compared to the same month last year. This growth comes at a time of notable shifts in global trade dynamics, particularly following the Trump Governance’s hefty 145% tariff on Chinese goods that took effect earlier this month.

The latest Descartes Global Shipping Report indicates that this April has been one of the strongest on record for container imports. Despite these new tariffs, China continues to be a key player in U.S. imports, contributing to over a third (33.4%) of total inbound volumes with an increase of 5.4% from March—driven largely by shipments of furniture, plastics, and machinery.

Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes, pointed out that much of this surge could be due to importers rushing shipments before the tariffs kicked in on April 9th: “While we see strong growth in container imports for April, it’s likely influenced by U.S. importers pulling forward their orders ahead of these new tariffs.”

Interestingly enough, ther’s been a noticeable shift towards sourcing diversification among U.S. importers as well; Vietnam led the charge with an impressive year-over-year growth rate of 32.5%, followed closely by italy at nearly 30%, and thailand at about 13%. this suggests businesses are actively seeking alternatives beyond China.

April also saw some changes in port activity patterns; major West Coast ports like Los Angeles and Long Beach regained ground with volume increases—13.9% and 12%, respectively—while East Coast ports such as Savannah and Charleston faced declines after briefly leading volumes just last month.On another positive note for logistics efficiency: transit delays have hit their lowest levels since Descartes began tracking them back in early 2021! However, not everyone is convinced about the accuracy of these figures; John McCown from the John McCown Container Report has raised eyebrows regarding Descartes’ methodology due to discrepancies he observed between their estimates and official port counts during late last year.

Looking forward into May’s data will likely reveal more about how these new tariffs are affecting trade flows since many shipments recorded in April were already en route when those tariffs were imposed: “the real impact might show up more clearly next month,” Wood added.

So if you’re keeping tabs on maritime trends or just curious about how global trade is evolving amidst changing policies—stay tuned!