China sharply boosts exports to US as tariffs ease

After a temporary easing of US tariff pressure, China has significantly accelerated its exports to the US market. According to Bloomberg, the trade "truce" has given new impetus to shipments from Chinese ports, causing a rapid increase in container traffic and logistics costs.

According to analytics from Vizion and Dun & Bradstreet, Chinese exporters booked more than 228,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers to the US in the week that began on May 12. This is twice as much as the previous week, demonstrating a large-scale surge in export activity.

This surge in demand has also had a significant impact on transport rates. According to the Drewry World Container Index, the spot price for shipping a container from Shanghai to Los Angeles rose 16% to $3,136 per 40-foot container. At the same time, China’s Ministry of Transport reported a nearly 18% increase in the number of international air cargo flights.

The business sector confirms a sharp increase in activity. Chen Lei, a supply chain manager at a factory in Guangdong province that cooperates with Royal Philips NV and Walmart Inc., noted that American orders that were frozen in April are now being massively resumed. “The machines are running non-stop. 90 days is very short, every minute counts,” he was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Despite the turbulent dynamics of recent weeks, overall shipment volumes remain at a level close to last year. HSBC and Flexport estimate that the proportion of cancelled shipping trips on routes from China to the US has fallen from 25% to 13% as of May 26, indicating a partial stabilization of the logistics situation.

These trends are a response to the easing of restrictions initiated by the US administration as part of the new approaches to trade negotiations with China. However, analysts warn that the window of opportunity for exporters is short-term and could close with renewed tariff pressure or the introduction of new regulatory measures.