U.S. maritime imports held steady in 2025, even while reshaping port performance, sourcing strategies, and supply chains in one of the most unpredictable trade environments in decades, according to an annual report from supply chain software vendor Descartes. The “2026 Descartes Datamyne Port Report” shows how trade volatility and changing port dynamics disrupted established patterns across U.S. ports of entry over the past year, the firm said.Under the weight of U.S. tariffs, growth in containerized import volumes in 2025 was flat, reaching 28,093,126 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for a razor-thin decline of 0.03% from 2024’s 28,112,319 TEUs.In Descartes’ analysis, shipments shuttled between unseasonable peaks, triggered by a combination of overstocking, lagging demand, and uncertainty around tariffs stalled orders for February. As Chinese tariffs began to ratchet up, orders rushed in until the cumulative rate hit a trade-stopping 145% in April. Tariffs fell back with May’s truce between the U.S. and China, and the floodgates opened to deferred orders. Imports surged on the rebound in shipments from China, augmented by front-loading ahead of the August effective date for reciprocal tariffs on goods from more than 180 countries.Not all U.S. ports were equally affected by the inconsistent performance of Chinese imports. The West Coast was most exposed with China-sourced shipments accounting for 47.7% of TEUs in 2025, compared with 25.9% at Gulf ports and 22.4% on the East Coast.As the U.S. struck new deals with trading partners and tariffs were raised, rolled back, and postponed, shippers and importers scrambled to adjust business…
