Freight rates soar to $10,000, and cargo volume surged by nearly 300%.

On May 14, the measures to reduce tariffs between China and the United States were officially implemented, significantly lowering tariffs and suspending some tariffs within the next 90 days. The Sino-US trade tensions that have lasted for several months have eased temporarily.The demand for transportation between China and the United States has surged, and freight rates have risen sharply, setting off a wave of "rush to freight".

After China and the United States cut tariffs, demand for transportation on China and the United States has surged, ushering in a "travel rush". According to data from the shipping analysis agency Vizion, as of May 5, the average container booking volume from China to the United States was 5709 TEU.As of May 13, this number soared by 277% to 21,530 TEU.

At present, foreign trade companies are grasping the tariff window period and accelerating inventory clearance. A relevant person in charge of a home appliance giant said that the US tariff on exporting most home appliances goods within 90 days was 55%, which is only 10% compared with the new tariffs on April 1, 2025. It is expected that most Chinese home appliance products will resume shipment.A foreign trade company in Shenzhen received a call from 6 American customers in half a day, asking for delivery as soon as possible. Some companies received orders over one million US dollars that night when tariffs were lowered.

Industry experts believe that the joint statement of the Sino-US Geneva Economic and Trade Talks is a substantial short-term benefit to Chinese and American companies. Chinese companies should speed up communication with US customers to complete shipments within the window period. However, we must also pay attention to the long-term complexity of Sino-US trade and make long-term plans.

Against the backdrop of surge in demand, freight rates on China-US routes have soared sharply, and changes in market supply and demand have become the main driving force for price increases. Relevant persons from freight forwarding companies revealed that the freight rates of China-US routes have increased significantly. Compared with the first half of May, the freight rates in the second half of the month have increased by about 1,000 yuan/FEU. In the early stages of the tariff war, some shipping companies maintained price stability by reducing their capacity. Nowadays, shipping companies generally have the intention to raise prices, and customers are more sensitive to price changes.

According to the latest news, many shipping companies have successively issued price adjustment notices:

Hapag-Lloyd announced that from June 1, US shipping costs will increase by ,000 per large cabinet, which doubled the pressure on shippers and freight forwarders.

France's Dafei also issued a notice to customers that from June 1 to 14, the freight rates in the United States and West will be raised to US,100 per 40-foot cabinet, and the freight rates in the United States and East China will be increased to US,100 per 40-foot cabinet.

The freight notice of Mediterranean Shipping MSC is even more shocking. The freight rate of the basic port of the United States and West has jumped to US,000 per large cabinet, and the multimodal IPI freight rate of some inland sites is as high as US,700 per large cabinet, close to the ,000 mark.

This undoubtedly puts huge pressure on US line transportation costs. According to market news, some shipping companies plan to raise the freight rate per large box in the United States and West to US,000 on June 15. At that time, it is expected that some originally cancelled flights on the US line will resume operations, and overtime ships may occur. In this case, the actual increase in freight rates remains to be further observed.

Xeneta chief analyst pointed out that the export chamber of commerce used the 90-day window to centrally shipped goods, which drove freight rates to rise sharply. Since shipping companies have previously transferred their capacity to Far East-Europe and other routes, capacity allocation will take a certain period of time, and exporters may face higher transportation costs. Some industry insiders predict that due to the concentrated shipment of the backlog of goods in the early stage, the upward trend of freight rates in China-US routes may continue until the second half of the year. Relevant people from freight forwarding companies also admitted that they hope that the market will maintain stability, but the actual situation may be that freight rates and cargo volumes will rise, or that the "US line hot" may reappear.

However, a large freight forwarder pointed out thatCurrently, the cargo volume of China-US routes has recovered to nearly 80%, and the cargo volume has increased by about 30% to 40%. The market reported that shipments have increased by 30% due to the fact that shippers falsely reported or booked repeatedly in order to grab the space.The industry believes that the current market situation is very chaotic and it is estimated that it will be clearer next week. We can also sort out the freight rates and peak season surcharge plans for each shipping company.

At present, market entities have optimistic expectations for the stabilization of Sino-US economic and trade relations. Every summer is the U.S. Christmas ordering season. Previously, high tariff policies have put American companies in trouble. Now a large number of orders are released in a concentrated manner, indicating that the stability of China-US economic and trade relations is of great significance to enterprises in both countries. However, although China and the United States have established a communication mechanism, many details still need further consultation, structural contradictions and deep-seated differences still exist, and rational expectations should be maintained regarding the direction of China-US economic and trade relations.

Some industry insiders mentioned that the current shippers from China export to the US market are rushing for shipments, and the cabin space is becoming increasingly tight. A person from a large transportation company confirmed the rush shipping phenomenon and expected that it would continue to be popular in the next 2-3 months.

A certain logistics company is a freight forwarding logistics company that focuses on exporting goods from US-line goods. The company's general manager said: "At present, the cargo volume of China-US routes has rebounded significantly, and our booking volume has at least doubled!" A relevant person in charge of another supply chain company also said that after the Sino-US trade friction was temporarily suspended, the business has recovered significantly. Many customers hope to fill the previous transportation gap caused by the trade war, with significantly increasing order size and space demand.

Regarding the rapid changes in order volume, the above-mentioned supply chain business person explained that goods have gradually shifted from the previous shrinkage to the increase in volume. Because customers are worried that the international situation will change again, most of them choose to ship in centralized shipments at present to prevent greater impact in the later stage. At the same time, tight cabin spaces have become a common phenomenon, and customers prefer freight forwarding companies that can safely ship and ship quickly.