The new edition of the Global Shipping Report, which was recently issued by Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings, pointed to United States-bound import declines.
This the 56th edition of the Global Shipping Report, going back to its debut in August 2021.
April U.S.-bound container imports—at 2,277,965 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units—fell 3.2% sequentially, compared to March’s 2,353,611 TEU, its fourth-highest monthly tally on record, and were off 5.5% annually, with the firm observing that trade uncertainty and ongoing disruptions in the Middle East continued to create headwinds. April’s tally is up 18.7% compared to pre-pandemic April 2019, with imports down 5.0% year-to-date compared to the first four months of 2025.
The report explained that ongoing tensions in the Middle East continue to disrupt key maritime corridors, coupled with Section 122 tariffs intact, tariff refunds expected to start May 12, uncertainty regarding future trade policy extensions, as well as unresolved trade relations with the EU, India, and China, noting that the global shipping environment is defined by volatility, shifting sourcing strategies, and increasing costs.
“So far in 2026, U.S. maritime import volumes have remained relatively resilient despite ongoing trade uncertainty and heightened geopolitical volatility,” said Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes. “With geopolitical disruption, tariff uncertainty and shifting trade dynamics continuing to pressure global supply chains, greater emphasis on flexibility, cost control and more diversified sourcing strategies are key focus areas for U.S. importers.”
Other key findings in the report included:
- April containerized imports from the top 10 countries of origin were down 3.1%, or 50,149 TEU, with Japan and Thailand seeing the largest gains and China seeing the largest decline, with followed by Vietnam, India, and Germany, with Descartes noting that April’s numbers marking a broad-based pullback in import volumes across key sourcing markets, with gains in select countries unable to offset declines out of China and from other major exporting nations
- Container volumes at the top 10 U.S. ports were down 1.4%, or 28,103 TEU, from March to April, with Los Angeles up 13.1%, or 46,251 TEU and Long Beach up 13.1%, or 46,251 TEU, with New York/Newark down 18.4%, or 68,449 TEU; and
- West Coast ports market share accounted for 44.6% of total imports, up from 38.3% in March and East and Gulf Coast ports’ share fell to 39.2%, from 44.3% in March, and the top 10 ports handling 83.9% of total U.S. containerized imports, down from March’s 82.6%
