Descartes Systems Group has released its November Global Shipping Report highlighting that U.S. container imports were essentially flat in October as year-to-date volumes continue to decrease.
The 2,306,687 TEU of imports was down a slight 0.1% from September and 7.5% lower than October 2024. After volume declines in August and September, imports from China were up 5.4% over September but down 16.3% year-over-year.
Compared to September, port transit time delays increased modestly in October across most top U.S. ports.
The October update of the logistics metrics monitored by Descartes suggests continued importer caution amid persistent trade uncertainty and likely frontloading activity that occurred in previous months as importers adjusted to evolving tariffs.
October imports dipped a marginal 0.1% over September and were down 7.5% from October 2024. For the first ten months of 2025, volumes are just 0.9% above the same period in 2024. Compared to 2024, the year-to-date growth margin has steadily narrowed this year—from nearly 10% in January to now less than 1% in October—suggesting that ongoing trade volatility, suspected frontloading earlier in the year, and slower consumer demand has slowed momentum.
Imports from the top 10 countries of origin posted a slight 1.3% month-over-month increase with a combined gain of 21,301 TEUs. The modest rebound was driven by China, which rose 5.4% (41,129 TEUs), increasing its share of total U.S. imports to 34.9% in October from 33.0% in September.
Significant gains in October were also recorded from Japan (25.2%), Italy (13.0%), and South Korea (8.2%). Hong Kong also increased 3.9%. In contrast, India fell 19.0%, Thailand 6.0%, Vietnam 4.8%, Germany 3.8%, and Indonesia 3.3%.
“Despite an increase in volumes from China, overall U.S. container imports dipped slightly in October compared to September,” said Jackson Wood, Director of Industry Strategy at Descartes. “October’s performance likely signals ongoing caution among U.S. importers facing persistent geopolitical friction and regulatory volatility, which drive higher levels of supply chain uncertainty and complexity as policies shift and evolve quickly.”