China-US freight rates fall as capacity boosts

China-US container freight rates have cooled after a recent surge as capacity has recovered, but high tariffs remain a major drag on bilateral trade.

container-ship

Container ship

Container freight rates from China to the United States have begun to decline from recent highs seen in May following trade talks in Geneva, amid improved ocean freight capacity. Industry analysts note that US tariffs on Chinese goods remain high, weighing on bilateral trade.

On Sunday, Chinese industry portal Geekyum showed freight rates from Qingdao, in eastern China’s Shandong Province, to Los Angeles for a Monday departure at around $3,100 per 40’GP container.

That's down significantly from a peak of around $6,000 at the end of the Geneva talks, where the two sides reached a deal to significantly reduce reciprocal tariffs, prompting US buyers to rush to place orders and exporters in China to rush to ship their goods to the US.

A manager at a shipping agency based in Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong Province, told the Global Times that shipments have surged since late May.

"Since the Geneva talks, there has been a surge in bookings to the US, but it takes time for shipping firms to get their container ships to ports where demand has piled up. Now, shipping capacity has recovered significantly at Chinese ports," the manager said.

Danish shipping company Maersk said in a customer note on Thursday that volumes from China to the United States are increasing following the May 12 tariff adjustment.

Zhu Cunyong, a shipping agent in Ningbo, told the Global Times on Sunday that with the steady recovery of shipping capacity, exporters' rush to secure vessels to load containers is easing, which is reflected in the decline in freight rates.

Zhu noted that the overall tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese goods remain very high, which has affected the willingness of U.S. importers to place orders due to concerns about shrinking consumer demand.

Although the United States remains China's third-largest trading partner, the negative impact of Washington's tariffs has weighed on trans-Pacific trade between the world's two largest economies.

Total trade between China and the United States fell 8.1% in the first five months of 2025 to 1.72 trillion yuan ($239 billion), according to the latest customs data released on June 9.

The impact is also being felt at U.S. ports, with industry experts expressing concern about the impact of higher tariffs on trade.

Imports at the busiest U.S. seaport in Los Angeles fell 9% year-on-year in May and are likely to remain subdued for the rest of 2025, Reuters reported on Friday, citing port officials, after companies responded to higher U.S. tariffs on China by canceling or suspending shipments.

The Port of Los Angeles, the number one port for seaborne cargo from China, handled imports of 355,950 20-foot equivalent containers (TEUs) in May, the lowest monthly volume in more than two years, according to Reuters. A port official said the high tariffs have caused US importers to halt trade.

Professor Sun Chuanwang from Xiamen University told the Global Times on Sunday that the current tariffs are still hindering trade of many goods. Sun called on the US side to further cut tariffs to maintain mutually beneficial trade between China and the US, noting that China-US trade is far from normal amid uncertainties over US tariff policy.

Last week, the first meeting of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism was held in London, where the two sides had candid and in-depth dialogue and in-depth exchanges on economic and trade issues of mutual concern. According to a statement from the Chinese side, the meeting achieved new progress in resolving each other's economic and trade concerns.

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