US tariffs to trigger sharp drop in China container bookings

Ongoing trade tensions between the US and China are weighing heavily on the container shipping market, with booking volumes on transpacific routes falling sharply, according to Linerlytica’s latest weekly report.

Cargo bookings from China for the next three weeks are reportedly down by 30-60%, while other parts of Asia are seeing a 10-20% decline. Linerlytica added that the upcoming Labour Day holidays could further weaken demand in May, possibly leading carriers to cancel more sailings to prevent additional pressure on freight rates.

Clarksons Research estimates that 6% of global container trade in TEUs comes from US imports from China, which now face elevated tariffs of at least 145%. An additional 8% of trade falls under the 10% baseline tariff level. Smaller carriers that heavily depend on Chinese cargo are especially at risk, with Sea-Intelligence warning that some may be forced to suspend services entirely during the trade war.

As a result, major global carriers are expected to reduce the number of US port calls and shift some Chinese-origin services to other Asian countries. The impact is already visible, with China’s transport ministry reporting a 6.1% drop in weekly container throughput at Chinese ports from April 7 to 13.