Monthly US container import volume in August hit third-highest level on record, Descartes says

The container shipping industry's typical peak season came a few months earlier than usual this year after some importers raced in goods to avoid the new U.S. tariffs that replaced those struck down in court and a hike in contract fuel costs. Volumes are expected to normalize as the year progresses.

"The broader trade environment remains unsettled," Descartes said, citing ongoing disruption around the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea as a result of the Iran war, new Panama Canal transit constraints caused by drought, and expanded U.S. tariffs that rattled supply chains and sent transportation costs higher.

Off-contract spot rates from Shanghai to the busiest U.S. container port in Los Angeles were $7,352 per 40-foot container on Thursday, while those from Shanghai to New York were $9,726 per 40-foot container, more than double the price from a year ago, according to Drewry’s World Container Index.

Imports from China totaled 884,318 TEUs in August, up 1.7% from a year earlier. China represented 34% of total container imports in August, led by plastics, furniture and bedding, Descartes said.

Economists and analysts view container imports as a gauge of the health of U.S. consumers, whose spending is the engine of the nation's economy. Retailers, including Walmart and Amazon.com, account for almost half of global container volume.

U.S. ocean container imports in August hit the third-highest monthly level on record as demand for consumer goods held up despite ongoing uncertainty over U.S. trade policy and rising inflation tied to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, supply chain technology provider Descartes Systems Group said on Thursday.

August 2026 U.S. container import volumes reached 2.6 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), more than 3% higher than in August 2025 and almost 22% above pre-pandemic August 2019, Descartes said.