Ocean container rates from Asia to North America saw a slight uptick earlier this month, as the Trump administration’s tariff-driven trade strategy impacted global markets, according to industry insiders.
Rates from Asia to the U.S. West Coast were up 10% week over week to $2,465 per forty-foot equivalent unit, per an April 16th market update.
Rates to the East Coast went up 3% to $3,647 per FEU. As shippers navigate trade uncertainty, a pullback in China-to-U.S. volumes, paired with an increase in demand from other Asia trade lanes, may reflect “diverging rates on the port-pair level,” according to Freightos.
U.S. shippers have been frontloading goods since November to get ahead of tariffs.
