According to American logistics media FreightWaves, reported on August 12th, as the traditional shipping season approaches, the volume of container imports in the United States increased significantly in July. Among these imports, goods from China saw the largest increase in quantity.
The latest global shipping report released by the supply chain technology company Descartes Systems Group shows that the number of imported containers in the United States in July was approximately 2.508 million TEUs, a month-on-month increase of 4.5%. The company notes that over the past decade, the quantity of container imports in the United States has typically seen seasonal increases in July.
Looking at the major sources of imports, the container imports from the top ten sources increased by 83,700 TEU month-on-month, representing a growth of 4.9%. Among these sources, China contributed the most to this increase: imports from China rose by 7.2% month-on-month, adding approximately 58,700 TEU, reaching the highest monthly level since July 2025. In this context, China accounted for about 70% of the increases in imports from the top ten sources.
Furthermore, imports from Hong Kong, Germany, Japan, South Korea and India have also increased.
However, compared to the same period last year, the import volume of containers in the United States decreased by 4.3% in July. Reports indicate that this is mainly due to American importers having carried out large-scale early imports during the same period last year, in response to trade policy uncertainties. This led to an export volume of 2.62 million standard boxes in July 2025.
According to FreightWaves, in June of this year, following an early import wave driven by tariff policies, U.S. imports saw a slight decline. However, data for July indicates that import demand, which is typically high during the peak season, is on the rise again.
