September 24, 2025 — Experts in the shipping and logistics industry are predicting the U.S. sector will begin to feel the effects of tariffs this fall, which will likely manifest in low import cargo volumes, low traffic on routes into the U.S., and lower container prices.
John McCown, of The McCown Report – who has long been predicting a major decline in 2025 inbound cargo volume –said on 22 September he expected to see a double-digit drop in container volume by the end of September as tariffs implemented by the Trump administration take full effect. McCown based his forecast on the fact that the United States’ largest ports saw very little increase (0.1 percent) in their year-over-year total inbound volumes in August.