American container imports remained high in August 2025, even with the decrease in the size of China and added the unrest in commercial policy a state of uncertainty, according to the global freight report of the Descartes Systems Group.
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American ports dealt with 2,519,722 20 feet -feet -footed units (TEU) in August, a decrease of 3.9 % of July, but remains 1.6 % higher than August 2024. The second consecutive month of imports was above the Democratic Union Party threshold 2.4 million that are traditionally struggling to maritime. Despite the pressure, the delay in the transit time in the main American ports increased only modestly, highlighting the elasticity of the system.
China’s imports continued to soften, decreasing to 869,523 from Teus in August-declining 5.8 % per month and 10.8 % lower than last year. In general, imports of the 10 best countries decreased by 4.4 % compared to July, led by the sharp decline from South Korea (11.8 %), Japan (14.5 %), and Taiwan (12.9 %). Only India (an increase of 1.7 %) and Indonesia (an increase of 5.3 %) published gains.
During the first eight months of 2025, total container imports in the United States are 3.3 % before the same period of 2024, confirming the elasticity of demand despite the continuous fluctuations in global trade.
Jackson Wood, director of the industry strategy in Descartes, said: He added that although the demand is still firm, the legal battles on the main tariff measures – which are now heading to the Supreme Court – feed the uncertainty for importers who move in the risks of the supply chain.
