And just like that, the United States is back in the China import business.
Demand has increased as shippers looked to move containers on vessels headed to the U.S., just one day after the trade partners agreed to pause reciprocal tariffs that had reduced by a third volumes on the eastbound trans-Pacific.
A rolling seven-day average of container bookings from China to the U.S. saw 5,709 twenty-foot equivalent units on May 5, Ben Tracy, vice president of strategic business development for shipping analyst Vizion, wrote in a LinkedIn post. As of Tuesday, that figure had rocketed to 21,530 TEUs, an increase of 277%.
“We are definitely starting to see the bookings return now that this temporary pause is in effect,” Tracy said.
By contrast, the SONAR Ocean TEU Volume Index of containers on vessels departing China still shows a decrease week-over-week, to 562 TEUs on May 13 from 711 TEUs on May 5. The SONAR Ocean Booking Volume Index rose to 57.78 from 48.99 in that time.
There had been widespread uncertainty throughout the supply chain over how quickly business would resume.
Ryan Petersen of forwarder FlexPort in a Monday post on X said booking inquiries with his company were up 35%.
But liner operator Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO) on Wednesday was offering shippers deep discounts on spot rates for door-to-door transportation to and from dozens of U.S. destinations, as it looks to fill available capacity on ships.
This article was updated May 15 to add SONAR data.
This article was edited May 14 to correct Vizion’s bookings percentage gain.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
Related coverage:
Maersk looks to fill up container ships in a flash (sale)
Pause and effect: Container rates await new demand
Ocean lines welcome tariff pause, but is the supply chain ready?
Less China means more business for Port of Virginia
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