Container shipments from China to the United States have plummeted since President Donald Trump ramped up the trade war, with some business executives and experts warning of major supply chain disruptions.

Bookings of containers shipped from China fell 64% from the end of March through the first week of April, when Trump unveiled new tariffs, according to Vizion data cited by Unlimited CIO Bob Elliott.

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Trump enacted a 145% “reciprocal tariff” on China. China hit back with 125% tariffs. 

Ocean carriers have already canceled 81 shipments for April across the Pacific Ocean, according to container shipping expert John McCown. This figure far outpaces the 51 shipments that were canceled during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The economy has COVID, except there is no PPP or stimulus coming,” Craig Fuller, CEO and Founder of FreightWaves, wrote on social media, referring to the Paycheck Protection Program launched in response to the major downturn in 2020. “The only cure is a deescalation of the tariffs.”

Major ports on the West Coast in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, have reported a decline in shipping arrivals. The number of freight shipments leaving China en route to Southern California for the week ending May 3 has declined 29% in a week-over-week analysis, according to Port Optimizer, a tracking system for ships.

This week, 12 vessels are scheduled to arrive in California, down from 22 the week of April 20.

“We are at a tipping point on the West Coast,” said Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics, told CNBC. “Looking at how many truckloads are available versus trucks, we’ve seen a precipitous drop; over 700,000 loads have evaporated nationally in the past week compared to two weeks prior.”

Some corporate retailers have warned of disruptions.

Trump met with chief executives from three of the nation’s top retailers—Walmart, Target, and Home Depot—on Monday to discuss how tariffs are affecting their businesses. According to Axios, the executives told the president that the tariffs are leading to product shortages.

This week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the trade war was “unsustainable,” noting that a de-escalation could be coming soon. Trump said his administration was in “active” talks with China about trade daily.

China, however, has rebutted the Trump administration’s claims that the two are working together.

BESSENT SAYS ‘AMERICA FIRST DOES NOT MEAN AMERICA ALONE,’ URGES COLLABORATION ON TRADE

“China and the U.S. have not engaged in any consultations or negotiations regarding tariffs, let alone reached an agreement,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a briefing this week.

He noted that any reports of talks were false and that China is open to negotiations, saying, “If it’s a fight, we will fight to the end.”