U.S. container imports from Asia increased 17.5% year on year to 1.75 million TEUs in May, according to Descartes Datamyne data based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection records.
Compared with April, imports rose 8.7%.
Overall U.S. container imports reached 2.43 million TEUs in May, up 11.6% from the same month last year.
During the first five months of 2026, U.S. imports from the 10 largest Asian trading partners totaled 8.3 million TEUs, down 0.2% year on year.
Imports from China climbed 32.3% to 931,106 TEUs, recording the first annual increase in 13 months.
Vietnam remained the second-largest origin, with imports rising 17.4% to 258,135 TEUs. The country has now recorded year-on-year growth for 32 consecutive months.
Imports from Thailand also increased strongly, rising 32% to 73,126 TEUs.
In contrast, imports from South Korea declined 9% to 187,193 TEUs, while shipments from India fell 3.4% to 75,807 TEUs.
Japan recorded the sharpest decline among the top 10 Asian exporters, with imports dropping 18.9% to 27,899 TEUs.
