Story updated on June 12 to reflect corrected data.
The volume of vehicles and automotive parts entering the United States by sea dropped last month, primarily due to the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on all imported models.
May saw a drop of 9 percent on vehicles, according to Descartes Datamyne, a firm that compiles commercial databases. Maritime shipments of automotive parts fell by 15 percent.
We know that several automakers rushed to ship more vehicles before the tariffs took effect, so a drop in May was to be expected. Some analysts believe that now, carmakers are holding back on shipments in hopes that Donald Trump will flinch and eliminate or reduce the tariffs.
In any case, there’s a consensus among those analysts: the drop is caused by the tariffs.
“It’s almost impossible to reach any other conclusion than this is the impact of vehicle tariffs manifesting itself in import volumes,” said Jackson Wood, director of industry strategy for global trade intelligence at Descartes Systems Group. “My read on this is that importers are pausing, hoping that more favourable tariff conditions will emerge in the medium term.”
More data will be needed to permit a full analysis, especially a larger data sample spanning several months of tariff impacts.
Uncertainty in the Auto industry
Meanwhile, automakers, who hate uncertainty as much as any other businesses do, often remain in limbo regarding the procedures to follow, which are constantly changing.
What is certain, and we've already seen it with a few brands, is that vehicle prices are on the rise. Upward adjustments have already begun and will continue in the U.S. this month.