U.S. Container Imports Climb Sharply in March

Descartes, a Waterloo, Canada‑based company providing on‑demand, logistics‑focused software solutions, highlighted a strong increase in U.S. imports in the latest edition of its recently released Global Shipping Report.

According to the report, containerized imports into the United States reached 2,353,611 TEUs in March. This figure represents a 12.4 percent increase compared with the previous month, while indicating a modest 1.1 percent decline year over year. Despite the annual decrease, the volume stands out as the fourth‑highest monthly import total on record.

In Descartes’ previous report, imports in February were noted to have declined 9.7 percent compared with January and 6.5 percent year over year. The report emphasized that the rebound observed in March following this decline suggests that seasonal patterns remain intact, and that demand has remained steady despite policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks.

It was also noted that March 2026 import volumes were 32.3 percent higher than March 2019, the pre‑pandemic benchmark, while total imports for the first three months of the year declined 4.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

Decline in Imports from China

In March, U.S. imports from China totaled 711,652 TEUs. This represents a 2.3 percent decrease compared with January and a 1.1 percent decline year over year. The figure is also 30.4 percent lower than the peak level of 1,022,913 TEUs recorded in July 2024.

According to the report, China’s share of total U.S. imports stood at 30.2 percent, reflecting a 4.6‑percentage‑point decline compared with February. This drop may have been driven by delayed effects of the Chinese New Year holiday, which fell between February 17 and March 3, 2026. As a result, typical 30‑ to 50‑day transit times may have caused production slowdowns to impact deliveries arriving in March.

Meanwhile, imports into the U.S. from the top 10 countries of origin increased by 8.2 percent month over month in March, adding a total of 122,671 TEUs in incremental volume. The largest contributors to this increase were Italy, with a 74.5 percent rise (25,565 TEUs), followed by Thailand, which recorded a 25.6 percent increase (24,682 TEUs).

Other Key Findings from the Report

• Container volumes at the top 10 busiest U.S. ports rose by 11 percent from February to March, increasing by 193,294 TEUs.

• The Port of New York/Newark posted a 37.3 percent increase (100,875 TEUs), while the Port of Norfolk recorded a 35.4 percent increase (38,091 TEUs).

• The combined market share of East and Gulf Coast ports increased from 35.3 percent in February to 44.3 percent.

• In contrast, the market share of West Coast ports declined from 44.2 percent to 39.5 percent over the same period.

• The top 10 ports accounted for 82.6 percent of total U.S. container imports, down slightly from 83.6 percent in February.

Source: Logistics Management