US imports just declined 7.9% year-over-year in June 2025, marking the second month in a row that shipping container volumes have fallen dramatically.
Experts say that tariffs are responsible, and they don’t predict the trend will reverse itself any time soon.
Recent tariff news doesn’t end there. Automaker Stellantis just announced a surprise $2.7 billion net loss for the first half of the year, even though analysts had predicted a profit. Meanwhile, new tariffs continue to roll out. The Commerce Department just announced plans for a big 93.5% tariff on graphite imports from China.
US Import Volumes Are Declining in 2025
In addition to the 7.9% year-over-year drop in June, US import container shipment volumes had previously fallen by 6.6% year-over-year in May.
The analysis comes from a monthly report by industry analyst John McCown recently covered by Transport Topics. According to McCown, this drop in import volumes has fully erased the almost 10% increases from front-loading in April. As a result, US imports overall are down 1.8% YoY for the second quarter of 2025.
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Import volumes had grown 15% last year. McCown doesn’t beat around the bush: He attributes the shift to tariff impacts, writing: “The downward turn in 2025 will be due to tariffs and unfortunately there is nothing at present that suggests it will be short-lived.”
“It is now most likely that there will be a decline in overall annual inbound volume in 2025. That will be one of the more striking year-to-year changes in U.S. container volume in the six-decade history of the shipping container.” – McCown
Stellantis Says Tariffs Cost It $349.2 Million
Italian car company Stellantis has revealed its preliminary figures for the first half of 2025, saying that it saw a $2.7 billion net loss across the first half of the year. It attributes about $349.2 million of that loss to the new US tariffs.
A 25% tariff on US car imports was issued in April, which led some manufacturers, like Jaguar Land Rover, to pause their exports to the US.
According to Stellantis, shipments to North America dropped 25% in the second quarter year-over-year, while total sales across that period dropped 10%. The $2.7 billion came as a surprise to some analysts, who had predicted a small profit.
Next Up: Graphite Tariffs
The tariffs are still coming. The US Commerce Department announced last week that it will soon implement a sky-high 93.5% tariff on imports of graphite from China to the US.
The new regulations are a response to a petition from late last year, Supply Chain Dive explains:
“The petition was introduced in December 2024 by the American Active Anode Material Producers, a trade group representing domestic graphite producers, alleging imports from China were benefiting from ‘countervailable subsidies’ and stymieing the growth of U.S. industry, per a January Federal Register filing.”
The US imported graphite worth about $375.1 million from China last year. The Trump administration is also looking into semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, and also previously ordered tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
