Chinese port activity slumped in early April, with data indicating that exports to the U.S. have been hammered by President Trump's tariffs.

The cargo handled by ports across China over the April 7-13 period tumbled 9.7% from the week before to 244 million tons. That's sharply weaker than the 0.88% loss registered during the previous week, when Trump first announced his plan for reciprocal tariffs.

Container throughput dropped 6.1%, reversing a 1.9% rise a week earlier, according to data from the transport ministry Tuesday.

The numbers mark a stark reversal from the steady increase in weekly port volumes since the end of the week-long Lunar New Year holidays starting late January.

U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, currently at 145% with a lower effective level for electronics, are likely to divert trade away from the U.S. to the rest of the world--a shift reflected in shipping costs.

For the week ended April 11, the Ningbo Container Freight Index reported an 18.0% week-over-week slide in freight rates to the U.S. west coast and a 10.8% decline in the cost of shipping to the east coast, according to data provider Wind.

In contrast, the cost of freight to Europe increased 1.8% over the same period, with rates to western and eastern Mediterranean rising 15.3% and 13.0%, respectively. Freight costs via South American east routes soared 52.5%.

Investment bank UBS on Tuesday cut its forecast for Chinese economic growth to 3.4% this year from 4% previously, assuming current tariffs remain in place and Beijing rolls out additional stimulus.

The investment bank anticipates that China's exports to the U.S. will fall by two-thirds in the coming quarters and that overall outbound shipments will drop 10% this year in dollar terms.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2025 02:22 ET (06:22 GMT)

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