Donald Trump’s tariff war has seen several Asian exporters cancelling container bookings, as US cargo receivers are now wary of having to pay higher prices for the goods.
Taiwanese cardboard manufacturers with factories in Vietnam have reported having to cancel as many as 300 container-loads of goods, after the US president slapped a 46% tariff on goods from the country.
Orders for May and beyond are also uncertain.
One manufacturer said: “We have been told not to proceed with any shipments for May, as the tariffs have now made pricing in doubt.
“Our customers asked if we can reduce our prices by 46% to cancel out the effects of the tariffs, but that’s impossible.”
With demand for their goods in doubt, these manufacturers are now operating their factories on reduced hours, having asked workers to work fewer days.
During Mr Trump’s first term as US president, from 2017 to 2020, his trade war with China saw manufacturers diversifying to South-east Asia, Mexico and other emerging nations. This strategy, dubbed “China plus one”, resulted in higher export volumes from those regions. Vietnamese authorities estimate that at the height of “China plus one”, the country exported 10,000 containers every day.
Now however, forwarders say last-minute cancellations are around 300 containers a day, a five-fold increase from the pre-tariff period.
Linerlytica’s report today says the tariffs have dashed ocean carriers’ efforts to raise transpacific freight rates and left May contract negotiations in limbo.
The consultancy said: “The effective US tariff rate, on a container volume weighted basis, will rise substantially to 36%, setting the stage for a full-blown trade war, with our global container demand growth projections already cut to -1.1% in 2025.”
On Friday, the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index showed Shanghai-US west coast rate gained 6% from the previous week, to $2,313 per 40ft, while the Shanghai-US east coast rate went up about 4%, to $3,306.
Linerlytica predicted: “However, these gains will be eroded over the coming weeks as the US tariffs hit cargo bookings due to order cancellations, and carriers will be forced to slash rates again.
