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Tariffs ignite global trade crisis! Trump "shakes" the foundation of shipping and logistics | Maritime export logistics
May 03,2025
Recently, the Trump administration has imposed high punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, triggering a major crisis in global trade. Global container shipping companies, major ports, shippers and importers are suffering as customers suspend shipments from China to avoid punitive U.S. tariffs and global trade is taking a severe hit.
Container shipping companies are among the first victims of the trade war. The ocean network cooperative strategy of Japan's container shipping companies predicts that a trade war will slash their expected after-tax profits by three-quarters by 2025. It had hoped to achieve a net profit of $1.1 billion, but would only have a net profit of $250 million if the trade war continued, based on "relatively stable business conditions in the current fiscal year."
Hapag-lloyd, a German container-shipping company, has also suffered, with Chinese customers cancelling 30 per cent of Chinese shipments, while demand for goods from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam has "surged." Hapag-lloyd and its alliance partner Maersk are in China route deployed smaller vessels to adapt to the current demand for some categories of China-US routes.
Jens Lund, chief executive of DSV, soon to be the world's largest freight forwarding company, is worried about the consequences of the US trade war. He predicted that many of the company's customers were at risk of bankruptcy or severe financial consequences, and that many suppliers of goods exported from China had suspended shipments. Lund also expressed concern that the trade war could lead to inflation and a recession in the United States.
The freight crisis is spreading through the supply chain to the big ports on the west coast of the United States, which handle most of America's imports from China and Asia. The decline in U.S. imports from China has directly led to a sharp decline in port activity. Gene Seroka, chief executive of the Port of Los Angeles, which includes Long Beach, expects the terminals to feel a drop in freight volume within a few days. As early as next week, the Port of LA's container count is expected to drop 35 percent from the same period last year. He believes this is due to US importers and manufacturers suspending imports of Chinese goods as a result of Trump's punitive tariffs.
Summer is the peak season for the container market, when Christmas trade goods are shipped from Asia to the United States, and Chinese factories typically concentrate on producing toys and Christmas decorations for the American market. But this year, Trump's trade war has cast a shadow over Christmas trade.
Greg Ahern, chief executive of the American Toy Manufacturers Trade Association (APTA), said the trade war had dampened Christmas production and a supply chain freeze put the holiday at risk. If production is not started soon, there is a high probability of a toy shortage this holiday season. Chinese factories produce nearly 80 percent of the toys and 90 percent of the Christmas goods in the United States, and it takes four to five months to produce, pack and ship Christmas shopping goods from China to the United States.
Mr Trump's tariffs are not only hampering trade between China and the US, but also threatening to disrupt global supply chains. Enterprises need to pay close attention to policy developments and adjust their strategies flexibly to cope with the changing market environment. In the future, how China and the United States can protect their own interests while maintaining the stability of the global economy has become a focus of attention.
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