China Shakes Off US Tariff Threat

New analysis by Maritime Strategies International cites emerging evidence that the demand side of the industry will prove better-insulated from tariffs than was expected earlier in the year, while a dynamic where Chinese exporters continue to export their manufactured goods surplus - above all to emerging economies - has significantly buoyed trade so far this year.

In its Q3 market report Faltering Freight, MSI, notes that global container trade trends started 2025 on a strong footing and following an estimated 4.9% year-on-year expansion in the first quarter, world container trade is estimated to have grown by 4.4% yoy in Q2. Further ahead, MSI believes there will be a degree of industrial sector retrenchment in China in the next several years, but for now this dynamic remains supportive of global container trade.

Q2 25 was another strong quarter for mainlane container trade volumes and was followed by healthy data in July for the Asia-Europe and Transatlantic trades. At the same time, it has been a volatile period on the Transpacific trade, although even here volumes sat nearly 6% higher on a ytd basis through August.

Overall mainlane headhaul