US container imports are forecast to stay elevated through August before gradually easing through the end of 2026, according to the Global Port Tracker, as this year’s peak shipping season runs shorter than usual amid tariff shifts and ongoing geopolitical disruption. Major US ports handled 2.23 million TEUs in June, up 13.2% year-on-year, as importers pulled cargo forward ahead of newly imposed tariffs.
That front-loading effectively compresses the traditional autumn peak into an earlier window, which means terminal operators and carriers should expect volumes to fall off faster than in a typical year once the current surge tapers. For a market that has spent much of 2026 absorbing tariff-driven demand swings on top of Middle East and Black Sea disruption, a sharper-than-usual Q4 slowdown is the next scheduling headache to plan around — particularly for capacity and labor allocation at the largest gateway ports.