US container imports fell 6.8% in January, but result points to more normalized trade, Descartes says

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES, Feb 9 (Reuters) - U.S. seaports in January handled 6.8% less container import volume than the year-ago month, when U.S. companies rushed in goods to front-run President Donald Trump's tariffs and sent imports soaring to a record high for the month, supply chain technology provider Descartes Systems Group DSG.TO said on Monday.

Investors monitor U.S. container imports because they are a bellwether for economic health, including consumer demand that is the main driver of the domestic economy. They also show the effects of Trump's trade policies that ripple from Main Street to Wall Street.

U.S. container imports totaled 2,318,722 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in January, exceeding the historical average for the month and likely pointing to a more normalized trade environment shaped by steady demand rather than frontloading activity, Descartes said.

Imports from China totaled 771,093 TEUs, down 22.7% from January 2025.

China accounted for one-third of total U.S. imports last month.

U.S. container imports are forecast to drop during the first half of this year, due to frontloading that sent port volume to record-breaking levels at the start of 2025, according to the Global Port Tracker report issued by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates on Monday.

"Following essentially flat container import volumes in 2025 compared with 2024, we expect a decline during the first half of 2026 and likely longer," said Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett.

“The continuing use of tariffs against friend and foe alike combined with the uncertainty of when or if they will be implemented makes trade forecasting very difficult,” Hackett said, adding that last year’s government shutdown has caused a delay in government trade data.

The U.S. Supreme Court is also due to decide on the legality of the Trump administration’s use of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. If the court strikes down the IEEPA tariffs, the administration said it could implement tariffs under other trade authorities.