US container imports fell 7.8 per cent in November from the year earlier, due to soft demand for goods from China and one less day in the Thanksgiving holiday month, supply chain technology provider Descartes Systems Group said on Tuesday.
Seaports handled 2,183,048 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) of imports in November, in line with normal seasonal drops. Still, it was the fourth-strongest November on record - trailing 2020, 2021 and 2024 - despite trade policy and economic uncertainty.
Imports from China fell 19.7 per cent year over year, a major driver of the overall volume pullback last month.
For the first 11 months of 2025, import volumes are 0.1 per cent above 2024, down from nearly 10 per cent growth early this year - adding to signs of softer demand and more cautious ordering behaviour, Descartes said.
"Beyond seasonal factors, November's decline in US container import volumes may also reflect ongoing importer caution amid a dynamic tariff backdrop," said Jackson Wood, director of industry strategy at Descartes.
The US has roiled global trade with stop-and-start tariffs on key trade partners like China, Mexico and Canada.
The Supreme Court is weighing President Donald Trump’s bid for sweeping authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as he has done this year. If Trump loses, his administration likely will seek to reinstate any affected tariffs under other trade authorities, experts said.
"Stores are stocked up and ready for a record holiday season but there is still a great deal of uncertainty about what will happen in 2026 with trade policy," said Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation (NRF).
"We are seeing the results of the tariffs in weakening cargo demand going forward from the fourth quarter of this year and likely into the first half of next year," Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
