Container bookings into the US slump by two-thirds in the space of one ‘explosive’ tariff week

Donald Trump’s self-described next set of “explosive” tariffs are now in effect, including 104% on China, the world’s biggest exporter. 

Also on the list are 60 of what the American president described as the “worst offending” countries, who will face tariffs ranging from 11% to 50%. These are all on top of the 10% blanket tariffs Trump announced a week ago. 

The additional tariffs on China kicked in after Beijing refused to meet Trump’s deadline to withdraw its own retaliatory levies on the US. 

Data from Vizion’s TradeView Global Trade Intelligence Platform shows that container bookings into the US have dropped 67% in the past seven days compared to the week prior. They also indicate export bookings being down 40%.

“If these numbers are anywhere near correct, this is an extremely large disruption to the trade flows we are seeing,” commented Lars Jensen, the CEO of container consultancy Vespucci Maritime, in a LinkedIn post.

Container carriers are responding to the uncertain trading environment by blanking some sailings. The Premier Alliance’s PN4 Pacific service, which should have begun in May is suspended until further notice, with other carriers and alliances expected to do similar in the coming days, mirroring how container shipping handled the early days of the covid epidemic five years ago.