LOS ANGELES — U.S. container imports fell 6.8% in January 2026 from a year earlier, easing from a tariff-driven rush that lifted volumes to a record for the month, Descartes Systems Group said in its February global shipping report. The company said the January reading still ran above the month’s historical average, suggesting steady demand as trade flows normalize, Feb. 9, 2026.
U.S. container imports ease from last year’s frontloading
U.S. container imports totaled 2,318,722 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in January, according to Descartes. The total was up 4.1% from December’s seasonal slowdown but remained 6.8% lower than January 2025. Descartes said the month landed slightly above the six-year January average and about 11.8% above pre-pandemic January 2019, underscoring how elevated U.S. container imports remain by historical standards.
China’s role in U.S. container imports shifts again
Imports from China were 771,093 TEUs, up 9.3% from December but down 22.7% from a year earlier, Descartes said. China’s share of U.S. container imports rose to 33.3%, reversing the late-2025 slide and highlighting how sourcing patterns can move even as overall volumes cool.
The year-over-year decline is measured against a high bar. January 2025 set a record for the month as importers rushed goods into the country ahead of tariff shifts and potential disruption, according to a Reuters report at the time.
Descartes’ latest read points to a market that is less reactive than it was a year ago, with companies increasingly planning around policy uncertainty rather than trying to outrun it. The results were also covered in a separate Reuters report that noted investors watch U.S. container imports as a bellwether for goods demand and the direction of trade policy.
What to watch next for U.S. container imports
The January slowdown follows a choppy 2025 in which early-year strength faded as the year went on. In a January update covering December, Descartes said full-year imports finished 0.4% below 2024 and described 2025 as “marked by volatility, uncertainty and slightly softening demand compared to 2024,” in its January global shipping report release.
Looking ahead, the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker forecast January import volume at 2.11 million TEUs, down 5.3% year over year, with year-over-year declines expected to persist into spring before turning positive later in 2026.
Port operators, meanwhile, are bracing for a year shaped by policy and consumer spending more than terminal congestion. At the nation’s busiest seaport, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the complex handled 10.2 million container units in 2025 and told attendees that “Cargo remains the lifeblood of the U.S. economy,” during the port’s 2026 State of the Port event.
For longer-run perspective, Descartes’ January 2024 report showed imports rising to 2,273,125 TEUs as supply chains adjusted to canal disruptions and shifting routings. Two years later, the pattern looks different: U.S. container imports are lower than last year’s peak but still strong enough to suggest the normalization Descartes described is being driven by steady demand, not a sudden stop in trade.
