Descartes Releases October Global Shipping Report
U.S. container imports reached a record September high, while port delays, tariffs, customs clearance requirements and congestion continued to affect Asia–North America freight flows.
What are the key facts?
- 1U.S. September container imports reached 2,546,261 TEU
- 2U.S. September container imports increased 10.3% year over year
- 3Eight of the top 10 ports experienced transportation delays
- 4Asia–North America freight flows remained affected by multiple factors
What happened?
The global shipping report released on October 8 showed that U.S. container imports reached 2,546,261 TEU in September, up 10.3% from September 2025 and setting the highest September import volume in the relevant records. At the same time, eight of the top 10 ports experienced transportation delays. Freight flows from Asia to North America continued to be affected by tariffs, customs clearance requirements and port congestion. Additional observations showed that demand in cross-border logistics is shifting from low-cost small parcels toward high-value and electronics freight. For cross-border ecommerce sellers, peak-season inventory planning requires more than a focus on ocean freight rates; it must also include port delays, customs documentation, destination-country inventory and replenishment buffers.
What does this mean for cross-border sellers?
U.S. container imports reached a record September high, but eight of the top 10 ports experienced transportation delays, while Asia–North America freight flows remained affected by tariffs, customs clearance requirements and port congestion. During peak-season inventory planning, manage customs documents, destination-country inventory and replenishment buffers together, with particular attention to high-value and electronics freight.
What should sellers do now?
- 1This week, check the HS codes, tariffs and customs documents for each peak-season ocean-freight SKU shipped to North America. Create a missing-information checklist by store and shipment, and complete a spreadsheet for pre-shipment review.HS duty estimate
- 2This week, recalculate ocean freight, tariff and delay-related costs for key replenishment SKUs in North American stores. Break down the results by destination-country inventory and prepare an updated profit calculation sheet for pricing and replenishment decisions.Profit calculator
- 3This week, identify high-value and electronics listings from existing North American store inventory. Use market and competitor information to prepare a priority replenishment list, and mark inventory and replenishment-check items for each SKU.My AI Agents