Record July Imports Race a Tariff Cliff at the Nation's Ports

American importers are barrelling into the busiest month in the history of US container shipping, and the driving force has little to do with consumer appetite and everything to do with a date on the calendar.

The NRF and Hackett Associates Global Port Tracker projects 2.47 million twenty-foot equivalent units moving through US ports in July, the highest monthly total ever recorded. That eclipses the previous high of 2.4 million TEUs set in May 2022 at the peak of the post-pandemic scramble. The reason is simple: the 10 per cent global tariff imposed under Section 122 lapses at one minute past midnight on 24 July, with a fresh and higher round anticipated as early as August.

Retailers are front-loading autumn and holiday goods to beat the increase. May volumes hit 2.24 million TEUs, up 14.9 per cent year on year, and June is pegged at 2.33 million. Cargo from China led the surge, jumping 27.4 per cent to more than 814,000 TEUs in June as importers raced to build inventory.

The gateways are absorbing the crush without gridlock. Even at record volume, Los Angeles and Long Beach reported almost no ships at anchor over the July 4 weekend. The pinch point is not congestion but cost. Transpacific ocean rates have climbed sharply on stacked general rate increases and peak-season surcharges, with West Coast bookings sitting near $6,700 per FEU and the East Coast around $9,000.

The hangover is already forecast. Volumes are expected to slide to 2.22 million TEUs in August, down 4.5 per cent year on year, with further softening through the autumn. Layer in Red Sea disruption, new Panama Canal draft restrictions and persistent Middle East risk, and the second half of 2026 looks considerably bumpier than the record-setting summer now underway.