US container imports fell 5.5% in April on trade and geopolitical risks, Descartes says

May 8 (Reuters) – U.S. container imports dropped 5.5% in April as importers contend with trade policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks, supply chain technology provider Descartes Systems Group said on Friday.

Containerized import volumes have been hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s shifting trade policies and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping corridor for energy supplies — following U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country.

Import trends are seen as a measure of the health of the U.S. economy — rising when the economy is strong and falling when the economy is weak.

U.S. seaports handled 2,277,965 twenty-foot equivalent units last month, which were down 3.2% from March levels, data from Descartes showed. This marked the first sequential drop in volumes for the month of April since 2022.

Still, last month’s container import volumes were about 19% higher than pre-pandemic levels from April 2019, which the firm said is a reflection of “continued resilience in underlying demand.”

So far in 2026, however, U.S. containerized imports are down 5%.

Meanwhile, China-origin containerized imports dropped 15.3% year-on-year to 680,778 TEUs in April 2026.

Importers are likely to get a “a short-term cash flow boost” as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency issues the first tariff refunds from May 12, Descartes said, but warned that policy uncertainty and cost pressures would persist as “replacement tariffs remain in effect.”

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)