How did monthly China and Vietnam US ocean bills move in 2024 and 2025?
Monthly shipment counts Jan 2024 - May 2025 to show tariff uncertainty front-loading pulse for China and Vietnam
Query
SELECT
toStartOfMonth(actual_arrival_date) AS month,
uniqExactIf(bill_of_lading, (match(upperUTF8(country), 'CHINA|ZHONGHUA') OR match(upperUTF8(loading_port), 'SHANGHAI|NINGBO|YANTIAN|SHEKOU|NANSHA|QINGDAO|TIANJIN|DALIAN|GUANGZHOU|XIAMEN')) AND weight_in_kg > 1000) AS china_bols,
uniqExactIf(bill_of_lading, (match(upperUTF8(country), 'VIET|VIETNAM') OR match(upperUTF8(loading_port), 'HO CHI MINH|HAI PHONG|HAIPHONG|DA NANG')) AND weight_in_kg > 1000) AS vietnam_bols,
uniqExactIf(bill_of_lading, weight_in_kg > 1000) AS total_bols
FROM bols
WHERE actual_arrival_date >= toDate('2024-01-01')
AND actual_arrival_date <= toDate('2025-12-31')
GROUP BY month
ORDER BY month
Result
24 rows · US ocean AMS bills of lading (Kirchner bols), arrivals 2014–2025.
| Month | China unique bills | Vietnam unique bills | Total unique bills |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-01 | 449,294 | 63,434 | 971,157 |
| 2024-02 | 392,894 | 65,794 | 908,583 |
| 2024-03 | 343,633 | 61,836 | 904,748 |
| 2024-04 | 273,571 | 42,773 | 688,353 |
| 2024-05 | 444,958 | 71,126 | 1,016,896 |
| 2024-06 | 470,499 | 73,057 | 1,033,882 |
| 2024-07 | 480,065 | 72,832 | 1,026,965 |
| 2024-08 | 468,838 | 76,484 | 996,162 |
| 2024-09 | 425,883 | 65,576 | 920,819 |
| 2024-10 | 403,038 | 77,840 | 853,166 |
| 2024-11 | 352,887 | 61,001 | 816,649 |
| 2024-12 | 366,347 | 61,052 | 804,502 |
| 2025-01 | 508,204 | 86,798 | 1,095,254 |
| 2025-02 | 446,926 | 78,742 | 983,228 |
| 2025-03 | 417,145 | 80,991 | 1,032,785 |
| 2025-04 | 468,552 | 82,494 | 1,044,179 |
| 2025-05 | 405,496 | 83,552 | 954,955 |
| 2025-06 | 418,917 | 89,097 | 982,276 |
| 2025-07 | 523,111 | 96,099 | 1,126,699 |
| 2025-08 | 511,832 | 96,225 | 1,100,650 |
| 2025-09 | 469,049 | 99,859 | 1,026,708 |
| 2025-10 | 477,398 | 91,701 | 1,013,598 |
| 2025-11 | 446,297 | 92,596 | 975,161 |
| 2025-12 | 432,615 | 93,625 | 976,424 |
Question
Did US imports from China surge in 2025 ahead of new tariffs?
Answer
On bills over 1,000 kg, China unique bills dipped to 273,571 in April 2024, then ran 350,000–480,000 a month through late 2024. January 2025 was 508,204 versus 449,294 in January 2024; July 2025 was the high month in this extract at 523,111. Vietnam rose from about 63,000 bills in January 2024 to about 87,000 in January 2025 and 93,625 in December 2025. 2025 in this file is loaded through December, not a stub year.
Cite this page if you need the table. Related: China Plus One working paper · all tables