Lloyd's List • June 6, 2025

Mixed signals on transpacific: Spot rates still rising but bookings momentum stalls

Bookings of China-US cargoes have declined 26% from the peak in mid-May

Lloyd's List • May 29, 2025

US court rules against tariffs but ‘Trump 2.0 trade wars aren’t over yet’

Court decision creates ‘a new level of uncertainty’

Lloyd's List • May 19, 2025

Zim strikes cautious tone, citing uncertainty on rebound duration

Demand rebound could be short lived; trade war could still play out negatively for second-half results

Lloyd's List • May 16, 2025

Transpacific rates spike but Walmart warns that China tariffs are ‘still too high’

The China-US container trade has suddenly flipped from famine to feast

Lloyd's List • May 15, 2025

The Daily View: Beware the anchoring bias

US tariffs down sharply, but still very high

Lloyd's List • May 12, 2025

US-China trade war de-escalation was expected — but not this fast

Extreme whipsaws in trade policy continue, with major consequences for shipping demand.

Lloyd's List • May 8, 2025

Maersk sees 30%-40% drop in China-US trade and ‘race’ for inventories

If there is no thaw in the US-China trade war by this summer, time will run out

Lloyd's List • May 1, 2025

New version of US SHIPS Act targets owners ordering Chinese newbuilds

Non-Chinese owners ordering at China’s CSSC would face US port fees if bill passes

Lloyd's List • April 26, 2025

Most shipping lines can avoid US port fees but Cosco faces major challenge

Final decision gives carriers much more flexibility to redeploy tonnage and avoid US port fees

Lloyd's List • April 15, 2025

Transpacific poised for fall despite Trump reprieve on Chinese tech

Pause in higher tariffs for Chinese smartphones and tech does not help liner demand

Lloyd's List • April 10, 2025

Trump capitulates on non-Chinese tariffs, adding to shipping uncertainty

Surprise social media post was a bad sign for the future of US-China trade but positive for container flows from other countries

Lloyd's List • April 2, 2025

‘Thermonuclear’ port fee-tariff combo: Shipping ‘disaster’ or will rates go ‘ballistic’?

No one really knows how this will play out for rates, although shipowners predict they will ultimately profit

Lloyd's List • March 27, 2025

US port fees could ‘cripple’ Caribbean, force islands to buy more from China

Caribbean market uniquely vulnerable to US port fee threat

Lloyd's List • March 25, 2025

Crunch time for US port fee threat as final Washington hearings begin

What happens next will be a litmus test of practicality versus ideology

Lloyd's List • March 15, 2025

Geopolitical tensions at Panama Canal still very high despite sale of ports

Shipping could face a major disruption if Trump is not bluffing about taking back the Panama Canal

Lloyd's List • March 12, 2025

US could face trade ‘apocalypse’ if Trump port fee plan isn’t killed

Business leaders warn of potentially catastrophic effects to US import costs, US export competitiveness, economy

Lloyd's List • March 7, 2025

The long view from Long Beach

How US retreat could affect shipping over the coming decades

Lloyd's List • March 4, 2025

If US taxes Chinese ships, liners could pull capacity from US ports

US port fee plan could lead to higher costs, congestion and reduced US container services

Lloyd's List • February 23, 2025

Sweeping US plan to target Chinese ships would snare many non-Chinese operators

The US plans to charge up to $1.5m for every port call by a Chinese-built ship

Lloyd's List • February 19, 2025

The Daily View: Uncertainty is bad for demand growth

The geopolitical effect on rates is always an educated guess, but we now have a whole new level of guessing.