Imports and exports via container ships slightly boosted in April
Container traffic experienced a marginal increase in April, defying the ongoing international trade conflict, according to a preliminary report published by the RWI research institute in Essen and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) on Wednesday.
The monthly barometer revealed a marked ascension to 137.3 points on a seasonally adjusted basis, a rise from the 136.2 points recorded in March. This uptick suggests that, despite escalating trade tensions, global trade has thus far maintained relative stability.
Internationally, the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China has instigated increased tariffs on Chinese imports, culminating in rates of up to 145 percent by mid-April. The emergence of these higher tariffs has influenced container traffic, yet, as yet, the impact has remained within the customary fluctuations observed in U.S. ports. Delayed effects stemming from the transatlantic voyage of containers originating from China are predicted to surface in May.
Torsten Schmidt, the Chief Economist of the RWI, expressed reservations about the short-term effects of the unpredictable U.S. trade policy on container traffic. He added that, while durable solutions for these trade disruptions must be identified promptly, the current transient impact on international shipping is difficult to discern utilizing monthly data.
In addition to the U.S.-China trade conflict, 10% of all global shipping voyages were canceled during April and May 2025, reflecting notable logistical disruption. This phenomenon is referred to as "blank sailings." The trade war has also necessitated the re-routing of containers, temporary repositories, and prolonged handling times, all of which have cumulatively impacted global maritime traffic. The Asia-North America trans-Pacific route, which accounts for 17% of global container traffic, experienced nearly a 50% reduction in shipping activities during this period. The result has been a noticeable decline in the global movement of goods, accompanied by a decrease in freight rates as sailing lines reassigned resources to alternative hubs.
In the face of these disruptions, some companies proactively moved shipments, leading to growth in Chinese ports of 8% year-over-year in the first half of 2025. The cancellation rate of 10% "blank sailings" during this time is significant but is still less than the downtime rate observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In summary, the international trade conflict between the United States and China has resulted in significant disruptions to container shipping, resulting in canceled voyages, capacity reallocation, logistical bottlenecks, and port congestion—all of which have contributed to the suppression of maritime trade flows between the world's two largest economies.
- The European Union, keeping a close watch on the ongoing global trade disruptions, will likely focus on the ascension of container traffic as suggested by the preliminary report from the RWI and ISL, aiming to analyze whether this trend in finance and industry is at all influenced by the trade conflict between the United States and China.
- Despite the European Parliament expressing concern over the increasing trade tensions between the United States and China, the Council and Commission may still need to discuss the impact of the emerging "blank sailings" phenomenon on the European industry, especially with 10% of global shipping voyages being canceled during April and May 2025, potentially disrupting logistics within the European Parliament's regional economies.
