Recently, the Global Port Tracking report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates shows that due to the tariff policy implemented from April, the container throughput of major ports in the United States is expected to decrease by 5.6% in 2025, with an annual processing capacity of approximately 24.1 million TEUs, lower than the 25.5 million TEUs in 2024.

Data shows that the throughput in the first half of 2025 was 12.53 million TEUs, an increase of 3.6% year-on-year. However, due to importers bringing goods into the United States ahead of schedule in the first half of the year to avoid tariffs, a significant decline is expected in the second half of the year.

In June, US ports handled a total of 1.96 million TEUs, an increase of 0.7% compared to May, but a decrease of 8.4% year-on-year, and lower than the previous forecast of 2.06 million TEUs. The initial data for July was 2.3 million TEUs, a month on month increase of 17.3% and a year-on-year decrease of 0.5%, higher than any month in the past year.

The report predicts that the import volume from August to December will continue to decline: August is expected to be 2.2 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 5%; In September, it dropped to 1.83 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 19.5%; In October, it was 1.82 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 18.9%; In November, it was 1.71 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 21.1%, the lowest level since April 2023; In December, it was 1.72 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 19.3%.

Despite the downward trend nationwide, Long Beach Port achieved a counter trend growth in July, with imported container volumes reaching 468081 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%; Including exports and empty containers, the total throughput was 944232 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 7%, setting a record for the busiest July in the history of the port.

The goods recently welcomed by US ports are mostly goods purchased by companies at lower costs during the temporary suspension of tariffs, but it is expected that the overall freight volume will remain stable in the second half of the year and may decrease by 10% in the third and fourth quarters.

The report also mentioned that the three-day strike at ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coast in October 2024 drove up the current import volume, leading to a further expansion of the year-on-year decline in 2025. With the full implementation of a new round of tariffs, the peak import season in the United States is expected to end earlier, and the autumn freight volume may significantly decrease.