U.S. Port & Logistics Review, April 2025

Key Takeaways

U.S. Tariffs
- As the situation with tariffs is developing and ongoing, please check in with your vendors to confirm if they expect an increased tariff.
  - As of Tuesday April 1st the latest updates are:
    - China goods were hit with a 10% added tariff in February, with another 10% added on March 4th. In total expect to pay 45% duty + duty per HTS code for all China goods.
    - Steel and aluminum tariffs took effect on March 12, 25% from all origin points.
    - April 2nd will be a big day for future tariff announcements. Current proposals include up to 20% added tariffs on all imports.
- Tariffs are assessed when the shipment clears the border and U.S. Customs. Items ordered but not yet through customs could be affected by new tariffs.
  - Tariffs are the responsibility of the Import of Record on the shipment.
- Impact of Tariffs on China, are yet to be realized.
  - February 2025 saw a 7.9% increase over February 2024 for total containers imported from China.
US Ports are operating normally, with minimal to no backlog.
Ocean vessel schedule reliability is hovering around 55% going into 2025. This represents a drop from 2023, where reliability was near 65%. It is also a large drop from 2019 and prior, which saw reliability averaging 75%+
- For US imports expect minimal delays on average 1-3 days.
  - Booking delays in Asia could be as high as 2 weeks.

Container Logistics

Container Costs
- Container costs have decreased over the past 11 weeks. The are still 2x the cost of low point we saw in 2023; 2023 saw containers drop to near 2019 and prior levels.
- Factors that caused the increase:
  - Carriers canceling planned vessels, to ensure each boat that is moving is full. Leading to shippers fighting for the available space.
  - Container availability issues are occurring. This is mostly due to the longer transit times boats have been facing for 8+ months.
  - Additionally, vessels being out of position due to longer transit times / delays.
  - Shippers are moving up their peak season shipments, which is worsening the current market conditions.
  - Imports to the US are up 7% year over year.
Suez Canal and the Red Sea
- Starting in November 2023 most long-range steamship lines avoiding this area. Local traffic is continuing to use the canal.
  - Overall volume through the canal is down over 50% compared to this time last year.
- Vessels inbound to the USA are continuing to route around Africa (Cape of Good Hope), which increases transit time by roughly a week.

US Port and Overland Overview

Fuel Updates
- Ocean Fuel (VLSFO) held its price in March, with its current price matching the latter half of 2024.
  - Compared to 2021 and prior the cost is still up 50% +
- Diesel in the USA as the start of April is $3.59 a gallon
  - Diesel is still roughly 20% higher than 2019 levels, which is keeping freight prices elevated.
  - Additionally, average diesel prices reported by EIA.gov are typically lower than truck stop prices, and are average across large sections of the country.
- National FTL rates are steady going into 2025, though elevated from 2019 levels.
  - FTL rates out of Southern California are high and are expected to remain high.
  - LTL and small package rates have continued to rise, due to the nature of how those networks function.

Data Analysis

February container imports fell, in line with the typical seasonal drop from January to February.
- February imports were up though, 4.7% over 2024. February 2025 was the second busiest February on record.

The PDF below is port-by-port review across the U.S. in April 2025 compared to 2024 & 2023.