Insight Focus
Though total US container imports remain stable, trends shifted. Imports from China and India fell significantly, while Southeast Asian countries saw growth. West Coast ports handled slightly more volume than East and Gulf Coast ports, keeping overall distribution largely stable.
While total US container imports for the first ten months of 2025 remained relatively stable—up 1% year over year, reaching approximately 23.5 million TEUs—a closer look at the data reveals several noteworthy shifts.
Imports from China on Downward Trend
Starting with the latest October figures, US imports from China fell sharply, dropping 16% to 804,000 TEUs.
According to Descartes Datamyne, year-over-year declines were broad across China’s major import categories in October, with most key product groups recording double-digit losses.
These October results reflect a climate of caution and uncertainty among US importers, driven by ongoing instability in the geo-economic relationship between the two global powers. With the US and China still walking a tightrope, the situation could stabilise—or deteriorate—rapidly. In this environment, closely monitoring trends and “expecting the unexpected” has become the new normal.
Mixed Results in Asian Market
In October, US import performance among major Asian economies was mixed. Imports from Vietnam saw strong growth, while South Korea experienced a slight decline. Imports from Singapore, India and Japan all fell, with Singapore and India facing the steepest drops.
Source: Descartes Datamyne
China and India Pull Imports Down, SE Asia Cushions Impact
From a broader perspective, US containerised imports from the top 10 countries of origin fell 9.4% year over year in October 2025, representing a combined loss of 171,350 TEUs.
Among the declines, China and India led the downturn, with other major sources—including Japan, Germany, South Korea, Hong Kong and Italy—also showing modest drops.
Source: Descartes Datamyne
Conversely, imports from select Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, showed growth.
Source: Descartes Datamyne
Overall, October’s results highlight continued year-over-year weakness across most major sourcing markets, driven largely by sharp contractions from China and India, though growth from select Southeast Asian countries partially offset the broader declines.
Distribution of US Import Flows
Regarding US container port performance, October revealed some notable shifts between East & Gulf Coast and West Coast gateways. In particular, East and Gulf Coast ports handled 40.7% of total volumes, down 0.6% month over month, while West Coast ports rose to 44.2%, a marginal growth of 0.3%.
The significance lies not in the size of the change, but in the fact that this marks the first decline in East and Gulf Coast share since June.
Container Ship at Port of Long Beach
Despite these movements, coast-to-coast shares remain within the typical ranges seen in most months throughout the year, highlighting a largely stable national distribution of import flows.
Looking more closely, West Coast ports maintained a larger share than East & Gulf Coast ports throughout the year, except in March and May. The West Coast began the year at roughly 48%, dropped sharply to around 40% in March, and after some fluctuations, stabilised above 44% from June through October.
Conversely, East & Gulf Coast ports started below 40% in January, climbed to around 43% in March and 45% in May, then slipped slightly below 40% in June. From that point onward, their share remained just above 40%.
Source: Descartes Datamyne
