Imports of a wide variety of goods to the US are set to fall in the coming weeks as logistics providers report large drops in bookings for both sea and air freight to the country.
According to the Financial Times (FT), scheduled arrivals at the Port of Los Angeles, for example, are set to be a third lower than last year for the week commencing May 4th. Meanwhile, shipping provider Hapag-Lloyd said Chinese customers had cancelled around 30 per cent of its bookings leaving the country for the US.
The coming weeks are likely to provide a major insight into the impact of president Donald Trump's tariffs as the first shipments set to be affected by the levies are scheduled to arrive.
Currently, import duties on goods from China stand at 145 percent, though exact rates have changed repeatedly over recent weeks, with many levies on other nations being imposed and then lifted, creating major uncertainty for importers to the country.
John Denton, secretary-general of the International Chamber of Commerce, said the fall in freight reflects importers “kicking decisions down the road” as they wait to see if the two sides can strike a deal.
While Mr Trump has claimed negotiations with the Chinese government are taking place, this has been denied by Beijing, which has insisted no such talks will happen until tariffs are removed.
Importers are looking to use up stockpiled inventories before importing new goods from China, the FT reported. Firms are also turning to bonded warehouses, where inventory can be stored duty-free until withdrawal, or are diverting shipments to other nearby countries such as Canada.
Mr Denton also told the newspaper that regardless of the outcome of the current trade war, there is a recognition among importers that the cost of shipping goods to the US will be the highest it has been since the 1930s.
He stated there is “almost an acceptance that ten percent will be the minimum charge to access the US market, whatever other uncertainties there may be".