U.S. container imports reached their highest September on record

U.S. container imports reached their highest September volume on record, reaching 24.8% above the pre-Covid mark of September, 2019, according to the Global Shipping Report from supply chain software vendor Descartes.

By the numbers, September imports to the U.S. totaled 2,546,261 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in September 2026, down 2.2% from August and up 10.3% from September 2025.

The increase came despite stormy conditions in worldwide container flows. Descartes cited an array of changes to trade conditions, including: Middle East maritime incidents and new carrier fuel charges added to routing and cost risk; Section 232 tariff treatment for specified pharmaceuticals took effect for additional companies on September 29; the Panama Canal Authority announced a partial restoration of transit capacity; and some carriers are resuming selected Suez Canal services even as Red Sea security remains uncertain.

Much of the increase was driven by China-origin imports, the numbers showed. U.S. containerized imports from China reached 924,454 TEUs in September 2026, increasing 40,136 TEUs (4.5%) from August and 161,682 TEUs (21.2%) from September 2025 (see Figure 4). China represented 36.3% of total U.S. container imports, up from 34.0% in August.

This story was originally published by Supply Chain Quarterly. Read the full story at Supply Chain Quarterly →