By Esther Fung

Airplanes are carrying less cargo to the U.S., in large part because importers have paused shipments of e-commerce packages and other goods to avoid hefty tariffs on goods made in China.

Air cargo to the U.S. is down about 20% or 30% from a year ago, freight forwarders and customs brokers estimate. The decline is more pronounced since May 2, when the de minimis exemption ended for goods from China. Planes typically carry higher-value, more time-sensitive goods than container ships, whose sailings also have plunged.

The daily number of trans-Pacific air freighters coming into the top 18 U.S. airports has dropped about 30% since the last week of April, according to Cirrus Global Advisors, an air cargo and e-commerce consulting firm. These include cargo flights to the U.S. from Asia flown by United Parcel Service, FedEx and DHL; they exclude military and Amazon planes.

By tonnage, freight imported via air made up 0.5% of total imports into the country in 2023, while cargo arriving by ship made up 46%. In terms of value, freight shipped via air made up 27% of total U.S. imports compared to ocean freight at 59%.

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May 08, 2025 13:15 ET (17:15 GMT)

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