North American ports

Importers can get a fairly good sense of how to proceed over the next few months based on developments to date, but things will get fuzzy when the separate cooldown periods for tariffs on China and the rest of the world expire this summer, writes Lars Jensen.

The Port of Los Angeles took the top spot for containerized imports in 2024 and edged out Houston and Savannah as the busiest gateway for exports.

Under their current configuration, the newest round of tariffs targeting China’s maritime industry will add $7 billion in costs for US ports, according to one estimate.

The Zim Central China Xpress will restart next week, little more than a month after Zim announced its suspension as part of the carrier’s broader 30% to 35% trim in its trans-Pacific network.

Industry backlash mitigated the costliest components of the US Trade Representative’s proposed fees, but surcharges from some carriers are still likely on the way, writes Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

Rates are climbing quickly amid fresh Chinese volumes headed to the US, with an expected crunch in vessel capacity and the potential for port congestion driving the gains. 

The predicted rush to get US imports from China on the water has begun as shippers take advantage of the 90-day cut in tariffs, according to CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.

The world’s largest shipping company said Wednesday the service suspensions and network changes were “in response to the recent changes in demand for cargo transport from Asia to the US.”

PSA BDP acquired a majority stake in Mexico-based forwarder ED International, expanding PSA’s cross-border forwarding network.

Interest in FTZs, where shippers can store goods while deferring the payment of duties, has increased dramatically since President Donald Trump implemented tariffs in April.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach complex, which handles about half of all US imports from Asia, is so far due to experience 59 blanked sailings between May 1 and June 30.

With demand expectations faltering, carriers have either jettisoned or substantially lowered the increases they were planning to implement beginning May 1, forwarder sources tell the Journal of Commerce.

US ports and support infrastructure such as warehouses and rail connections aren’t better equipped to handle import surges than they were during the pandemic when record volumes drove congestion to historic highs, carrier executives said this week.

Direct services to Asia and the EU have pulled more resin cargoes away from Houston, but the Gulf Coast is still the main route to the South American market.

Container lines saw a first-quarter demand boost from US shippers eager to bring in cargo before the April implementation of the Trump administration’s tariffs.

With far fewer US-bound goods leaving Chinese docks, carriers have accelerated the raft of blank sailings and service suspensions that began earlier this month, sources tell the Journal of Commerce.

F. Paul De Maria will become the new CEO of the group representing ocean carriers and marine terminal operators at East and Gulf coast ports.

The companies say it is important to be agile with capacity deployment if there is a significant decline in volumes crossing the docks at Los Angeles and Long Beach amid the trade conflict with China.

The carrier said its Gemini Cooperation alliance with Maersk is not resorting to blanked voyages to deal with the downturn, but it did redeploy ships to deal with demand changes.

Shippers and ocean carriers told the Journal of Commerce they are reviewing the USTR actions to estimate how the fees will flow down to freight costs.

The increase in blank sailings coincides with the Port of Los Angeles’ expectation that container volumes will plunge 14% month over month in week 18 and 38.6% in week 19.

Apparel importers are concerned that tariffs on China will do harm given more than 4 out of every 10 shipments of the product come from China.

The US Trade Representative (USTR) laid out actions to counter China’s maritime dominance that could put Cosco Shipping and subsidiary OOCL on the hook for millions when their ships call the US.

Carriers in the specialized cargo sector are designing contracts that would shift the cost of the US’ possible tax on Chinese tonnage to heavy-lift and project cargo shippers.

A lawsuit filed this month by the port authority claims the council’s recent rezoning of industrial land could eventually lead to the development of residential units and an increase in vehicular traffic in the harbor area.

The export decline is already showing up in some data, with bookings for US exports to China for the week of April 8–15 down 5.4% from the prior week.

Virginia continues to add infrastructure to its marine terminals as part of the port’s plan to handle mega-max vessels once dredging is finished late in 2025.

Some ships are leaving China just half-full as the Trump administration’s rush of tariffs sends shippers into contortions about what to do with their freight.

From an international supply chain perspective, the plan that could hit Chinese-made and -operated ships with fees in excess of $1 million per US port call could have impacts as profound as the current tariff controversy.

A full evaluation of on-time performance will not be possible until July once the transition to the new deep-sea services has been completed, but data for February and March is positive for the Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd alliance.

The executive order signed Wednesday falls short of providing any details on the proposed port fee plan but directs stricter collection of existing harbor maintenance fees.

And the chilling effect of the tariffs is extending further down the calendar, with forwarders in the trans-Pacific saying US retailers are holding off making purchase orders with factories in Asia for fall and holiday merchandise for 30 to 60 days.

Inclement weather, the lingering effects of labor disruptions and a January surge in imports contributed to the fifth consecutive month of excessive rail dwells at Canada’s largest port.

Eighteen Republican members of Congress said the remedies laid out as part of the US’ investigation into China’s maritime dominance are unworkable for farmers, notably a port tax on Chinese vessels and the requirement that an increasing volume of US exports be shipped on US-flagged vessels.

While the Gemini Cooperation is hitting its schedule reliability goals, Hapag-Lloyd’s chief executive said fully unwinding its former carrier alliance and dealing with terminal congestion in some locations are providing challenges.

Donald Trump’s latest tariffs targeting the auto sector have put key ro/ro ports on alert as they face a “chilling effect” on volumes.

The port authority on Wednesday completed an expansion of Inland Port Greer ahead of the opening of the near-dock Navy Base Intermodal Facility (NBIF) at the Port of Charleston later this year.

Brent Sadler served in the US Navy for 26 years and now works as a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

Major carriers had lined up rate increases with the intention of strengthening their bargaining power during service contract negotiations, but overcapacity seems to have kept that tactic in check.

Capacity improvements at the New Jersey facility will include optimization of the terminal layout, rebuilding berths at a higher level to allow for anticipated increases in the sea level and replacing existing cargo-handling equipment with zero-emission, electric machines.