Air freight rates increase as an import rush looms advance of US tariffs

From pharmaceutical companies to tech hardware manufacturers, the cost of air shipping products from China to the United States has increased since four weeks ago.

The cost of air shipping products to the United States has experienced a significant increase

As companies scramble to bring goods into the US before President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs go into effect, the cost of air freight into the US has increased significantly. A variety of exporters, including manufacturers of technology products and pharmaceuticals, are now paying more to transfer goods from China to the US via air than they were only four weeks earlier.

In particular, the average cost of air freight from China to the United States in the final week of March rose by 37% from the first week of the month to $4.14/kg, according to the most recent statistics from market tracker Xeneta. This turns around the cost’s consistent dropping trend that began during the height of the Christmas shopping season.

The higher expenses will be borne by consumers

The most recent instance of companies incurring high costs to lessen the effects of Trump’s tariffs is the increase in demand for air freight, which is quicker but more costly than shipping. The shipping sector has cautioned on numerous occasions that Trump’s moves will disproportionately affect consumers.

Even with the uptick, spot rates for air freight between China and the US are still lower than they were a year ago, when major growth in air freight activity was sparked by Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and large export volumes from Chinese retailers.

Air freight rates increase as an import rush looms advance of US tariffs

Duty exemption for “de minimis” items under $800

On April 2, the US president dubbed it “Liberation Day,” Mr. Trump declared new tariffs that would start at 10% on all imports into the US. He increased the duty on Chinese imports from 20% earlier this year to 34%. Before imposing higher tariffs on April 9, Washington also said that a basic tax of 10% will go into force on April 5.

According to a top executive at one of the biggest logistics firms in the world, many businesses were attempting to ship more goods into the US by air prior to Mr. Trump’s announcement of the tariffs, particularly in the last three weeks. They included producers of high-end items like Asian data center equipment manufacturers and European pharmaceutical businesses.

However, as Washington declared on April 2 that it would remove “de minimis” exemptions for goods under $800 as soon as “appropriate systems are in place” to collect the additional duties, the businesses that handle the goods that are profiting from this surge of imports are also bracing for a subsequent decline in demand from China.

Airlines and cargo plane operators benefit from the exemption, which has long been utilized by shops like Shein and Temu to transport inexpensive goods from China to US consumers.