Cost to ship goods from China jumps as tariff truce spurs demand

[LONDON] Spot container rates to ship goods to the US from China jumped by the most this year after the two biggest economies reached a temporary agreement to lower tariffs – reviving demand at the start of the 90-day reprieve.

The cost for a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Los Angeles jumped 15.6 per cent from the prior week to US$3,136, the biggest gain in percentage terms since December, according to the Drewry World Container Index posted on Thursday (May 15). The rate is still about 30 per cent lower than it was a year ago.

The Shanghai-to-New York route saw an even bigger jump – a 19.3 per cent gain from the previous week to US$4,350, according to Drewry. That was sharpest weekly increase since January 2024.

Container carriers including Hapag-Lloyd are seeing stronger demand since the tariff truce was announced on Monday. That’s tightening their transpacific eastbound capacity that they’d reduced during the past six weeks – when American importers largely halted orders as US tariffs hit 145 per cent and China’s reached 125 per cent.

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, told Bloomberg Television on Thursday that his industry contacts said in recent days that cargo bookings “have ticked up”.

But, he cautioned that the current US tariff rate of 30 per cent – on top of prior levies – is still expected to hurt demand and give importers pause as they decide whether buying Chinese goods still makes economic sense given the short window.

“This 90-day reprieve is not a long runway,” Seroka said.

“That’s typically the amount of time it takes for a procurement person here in the US to put an order in, get the goods made and get them on a ship in Asia,” he said. “We are cutting it so close.” BLOOMBERG