b"26American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comChina imports surge ahead of tariff deadlines CHINA TRADE 2025WillstockingupbeenoughtostuffChristmas stockings?By Pete Goldin, AJOTChina imports surged inofthedeminimisexemp-July, according to the AugusttionscheduledforAugust Global Shipping Report from29impacting all countries, DescartesSystemsGroup,notjustChinaandthe showing imports from ChinaexpectedOctober15endof increasingto923,075 TEUsthetarifftrucebetweenthe lastmontha44.4%US and China that temporar-month-over-monthincreaseily brought rates down from and the highest level in 2025the staggering peak of 145% since January. to a more reasonable 30%.ChinasshareoftotalTheDescartesreport USimportsroseto35.2%speculates that the July surge thehighestsinceearlyin Chinese volumes could be 2025,althoughstillbehinddrivenbyshipperstryingto the record 41.5% share fromimport products before these February2022.HongKongdeadlines,stockingupearly alsopostedasignificantfortheholidayseasonto increase in July, rising 25,185(SURGEcontinued onPresident Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit TEUs(47.8%).Importvol- page 27) in Osaka, Japan. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarqueumes from other Asian coun-triesalsoincreasedinJuly, includingJapan(23.2%), SouthKorea(16.8%),India (13.6%),Thailand(13.1%), andVietnam(4.5%).Des-cartessaysthewidespread increasessuggestaresur-genceinAsia-originship-ments among US importers.The Descartes report also foundthatChinaimports surged in July 2025 across the top10USports,increasing by 262,126 TEUs overalla42.9%month-over-month increase.WhileWestCoast portslikeLosAngeles (33.6%)andLongBeach (26.7%)continuedtoshow stronggrowth,thetwistis that East and Gulf Coast ports showedevenmoreimpres-sivegainsinChinaimports: Houston(122%),Savannah (90.2%),NewYork/Newark (69.5%), Charleston (78.9%), andNorfolk(51.4%).While the reason for increased China imports through Gulf and East Coastportsisnotentirely clear,itcouldbeattributed to more reliable access to the PanamaCanal,nowthatthe water level problem has sub-sided,makingiteasierfor some shippers to access cus-tomers,routesorwarehouse space in these regions.Theacross-the-board growth marks a reversal from prior months of contraction, the report states. s toCkingu pThereboundfollowsa sharp contraction in May and June, when the end of the de minimisexemptionandele-vated uncertainty with respect to tariffs weighed on shipment flows,theDescartesreport states.TheJulyrecovery reflects a combination of sea-sonaldemandandsuspected frontloading in response to the 30% temporary tariff rate on Chinese imports set to expire in mid-October.WithrespecttoChina imports, the two dates loom-ing right now are the repeal"