Cross border urgent orders surge: American buyers no longer bargain, Chinese factories work day and night
May 19, 2025 20:45 21st Century Business Herald 21 Finance APP Dong Jingyi
21st Century Business Herald reporter Dong Jingyi reports from Shanghai that China and the United States have significantly reduced their bilateral tariff levels, and the long dormant Sino US trade market seems to have been activated overnight.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on May 12th, China and the United States issued the "Joint Statement of the China US Geneva Economic and Trade Talks". The high-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States have made substantial progress, significantly reducing the level of bilateral tariffs. The United States has cancelled a total of 91% of the additional tariffs, while China has correspondingly cancelled 91% of the countermeasures; The United States has suspended the implementation of a 24% "equivalent tariff", and China has correspondingly suspended the implementation of a 24% counter tariff.
The tariff reduction this time has left at least a 90 day shipping window period, and American customers with bottoming out inventory have accelerated their orders in recent days.
Ding Linfeng, a merchant on Alibaba International Station and the general manager of Shanghai Weierda Sunshade Equipment Co., Ltd., told 21st Century Business Herald reporters that on the night of the tariff reduction on May 12th, before any small talk or celebration, American customers directly requested the next container of goods worth $100000. Another long-term American customer also plans to order 1-2 containers, with a total amount of around $150000.
There are many merchants like Ding Linfeng. In the week since the tariff reduction, foreign trade factories that had previously suspended their operations in the United States have been intensively accepting orders, producing, and shipping. According to the Global Shipping Order Tracking System, after reaching a tariff agreement between China and the United States, container bookings from China to the United States have surged by nearly 300%.
However, at the same time, policy uncertainty still looms over the industry after 90 days.
American customers are generally taking precautions, not only demanding the resumption of suspended orders, but also increasing their procurement volume and hoarding inventory for the next few months. According to reports from foreign trade factories to reporters, the first thing customers do after placing an order is to set a delivery date, and they don't even bargain.
Foreign trade factories have accelerated their pace of exploring new markets and expanding new businesses to cope with possible future changes. Walking on multiple legs will enhance our future survival ability, "Ding Linfeng told reporters.
Will China US trade policies be adjusted again in 90 days? Will high tariffs reappear? No one dares to take it lightly.
The big order is back
In the past month, American importers have faced enormous cost pressures, with many businesses unable to afford the additional costs due to increased tariffs, resulting in a sharp decrease in order volume and a significant decline in sea freight volume. Yue Bingwen, the director of Baotongda International Logistics in East China, told reporters that the volume of goods sent to the US market by traditional B2B foreign trade enterprises he has been in contact with has decreased by 70%.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on May 12th, China and the United States issued the "Joint Statement of the China US Geneva Economic and Trade Talks". The high-level economic and trade talks between China and the United States have made substantial progress, significantly reducing the level of bilateral tariffs.
At 7:30 am on May 13th, Wu Qingfen, the general manager of Yiwu Jingwen Import and Export Co., Ltd., opened her phone and saw a "long lost" large order. An American customer directly placed an order for 300000 pairs of socks.
She looked back and forth several times, confirmed it, and excitedly forwarded the good news to the company group. "It's been a month since I received such a big order," she said
Normally, we only start communicating after starting work at 9am because of the time difference, and customers will also wait for a while, "Wu Qingfen told reporters. This" early "order shows that customers are indeed quite anxious.
Following the large orders, good news is also coming one after another. Due to the repeated increase in tariffs in the early stage, many American customers who have already placed orders have requested a suspension of production, and this time they have all requested to resume production as soon as possible.
Jingwen Import and Export Co., Ltd. has over 200 sock machines on its production line, each capable of producing 300-400 pairs of socks per day. After Wu Qingfen's calculation, the production line is about to enter full load operation, and only completing this order of 300000 pairs of socks requires continuous production until the end of June.
The same scene also happened at Maiqijia Home in Shenzhen. I knew the orders would come, but I didn't expect to receive four new orders within a day, totaling 300000 US dollars, "Wang Li, the general manager of Shenzhen Maiqijia Home Furnishings Co., Ltd., told reporters. The order amount on May 13th was almost the highest in half a month. She roughly calculated that she plans to ship 8 containers of goods to the United States this week.
Many American customers of Maiqijia Home are Amazon sellers. When tariffs continue to increase, they place orders but are not allowed to ship. At that time, the goods had been stored in the factory, and Wang Li only had a 30% deposit on hand. "To be honest, I was quite worried," Wang Li said.
Wang Li admitted that the company currently has a high demand for funds, as inventory backlog can affect capital turnover. She estimated to reporters that her company's monthly revenue is about $1 million, and the normal inventory turnover rate is about 6 times. However, due to backlog issues, the turnover rate has decreased, which may only allow her to complete 4 turnover times, affecting the company's profits.
But it is a very common phenomenon for inventory to accumulate during this month, whether it is domestic foreign trade factories or American customers, they can only wait when facing high tariffs.
Wang Li said that at the recent exhibition, after communicating with some familiar suppliers and peers, they found that everyone had some goods piled up in the warehouse, waiting for the right time. However, people are generally optimistic that this situation is only temporary and still maintain confidence in the overall market.
The turning point has also arrived as scheduled. Now that the customers have paid the final payment, we have notified them to ship the goods as soon as possible, "Wang Li told reporters." We only hope to have all the goods stored in the warehouse shipped out within one or two weeks
Shipping costs may increase significantly
With the significant reduction of bilateral tariff levels between China and the United States, the busy air routes between the two countries have quickly resumed, and market activity has greatly increased. Yue Bingwen told reporters that according to recent observations, the surge in shipments is very obvious, with customer shipments increasing by at least 3 to 6 times compared to a week ago.
The person in charge of the global shipping order tracking system Vixen stated that the average booking volume for the seven days ending May 5th was 5709 TEUs, and the average booking volume for the seven days ending May 14th surged by 277% to 21530 TEUs. "Due to the significant reduction in bilateral tariff levels, we can see that the booking volume is rebounding
Container shipping information company Linerlytica stated in a report released on May 12th that the easing of the trade situation is earlier than many people expected, which will drive a surge in trans Pacific freight volume in the next three months. Due to the rebound in freight volume coinciding with the traditional summer shopping season in the United States, shipping costs are expected to soar in the near future.
However, there is a shortage of ships on the China US route. Yue Bingwen told reporters that due to the imposition of tariffs, the cargo volume significantly decreased in the first month, resulting in a significant impact on the shipping market.
Usually, for routes from Ningbo or Shanghai to Los Angeles, shipping companies will allocate 4 to 6 ships to maintain normal operations. However, due to the previous 60% to 70% decrease in cargo volume, some ships on certain routes were unable to operate at full capacity. If forced to ship, the shipping company would face losses. Therefore, the shipping company chose to suspend the shipping plan for some routes and allocate some idle ships to other markets such as Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Even though Sino US trade has resumed, shipping companies still need some time to complete internal coordination, making it difficult for these ships to return to their original routes in the short term, which can lead to a shortage of cabin space supply.
At present, the market quotations for China US shipping routes are very chaotic. Some logistics providers have told reporters that some have added $500, while others have added $1000 or $1500.
Logistics providers have also revealed to reporters that some cabin agents will take advantage of this opportunity to raise cabin prices by recycling cabins and reselling them at high prices. This behavior further exacerbates the tense situation of cabin space.
Foreign trade factories have also anticipated this situation and are intensifying production to ship as early as possible. Ding Linfeng told reporters that he is currently optimizing the production process, improving efficiency, and completing production as early as possible to avoid booking during the peak demand for logistics space.
It is expected that the demand for booking will surge in the next two weeks, three weeks, or even a month, and logistics costs will also increase. "Ding Linfeng said," The goods we can ship for 40000 yuan may increase to 100000 yuan, but compared to the 145% tariff, the cost is still relatively low. We will not stop shipping due to the increase in logistics costs
Yue Bingwen predicts that the shipment volume will be significant by June, and prices will continue to rise.
Uncertainty still exists
The shortage of supply in the shipping market has led to the resumption of shipments from previously backlogged orders from foreign trade customers, as well as the emergence of more new orders. The uncertainty after 90 days still hangs over Chinese foreign trade factories and American customers like the sword of Damocles.
Wu Qingfen told reporters that according to common sense, customers only need to request them to resume the previously suspended orders. However, in fact, customers not only demand the resumption of production, but also place new orders. Based on the customer's procurement scale, this order quantity is twice as large as before.
I think customers want to stock up more goods to avoid some new variables after 90 days, "said Wu Qingfen.
Wang Li also told reporters that most of her American customers have reached the replenishment stage, and coupled with the uncertainty of the tariff policy after 90 days, based on the current order amount, they are basically hoarding inventory for three to four months.
Everyone is competing for this window period, hurry up and replenish the goods before holidays such as Christmas and Black Friday, "said Wang Li.
Customers are quite anxious and request that these orders arrive in the United States and clear customs within these 90 days. According to reports from foreign trade factories to reporters, they have been working overtime recently to shorten production cycles as much as possible, while adjusting the priority ranking of orders with different levels of urgency.
And what will happen in 90 days, neither the factory nor the American customers can predict.
Tariffs may still be adjusted, "Zhu Qiucheng, CEO of Ningbo New Oriental Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., told reporters." If we receive a large number of orders but cannot deliver them in a timely manner within the window period, there is still a considerable risk.
The foreign trade factories, tormented by risks, no longer want to passively wait for 90 days. They are trying to regain more initiative.
While accelerating the completion of this batch of orders, Wu Qingfen is already considering shifting to other markets. In the past half month, they have started considering different markets and platforms, including Southeast Asia, Africa, and the domestic market, thinking about how to achieve better transition and expand customer sources through these markets. She told reporters that if the situation is not optimistic in the future, they will go to the African market to investigate in June or July.
Ding Linfeng, who specializes in RV sunshades, does not want to give up the US market, which has the highest number of RV ownership. However, he also stated that it is important to keep a hand of himself in the face of future uncertainty.
"Whether in Europe, the Middle East countries, or countries jointly building the the Belt and Road, we should look at the potential opportunities in these markets and seize them in time." Ding Linfeng told reporters, "Walking on multiple legs means that our future viability will be stronger."
Wang Li is considering expanding the layout of the C-end. They were already working on the cross-border e-commerce platform Temu before, and this year they plan to create their own independent website.
She believes that on the one hand, the premium ability of domestic brands is relatively high, which can enhance the added value of products; On the other hand, enterprises can directly control terminal retail prices and flexibly adjust prices in the face of uncertain factors such as tariff adjustments, so as not to fall into a passive situation.
In fact, in this wave of tariff changes, the impact on cross-border e-commerce is much smaller than that on traditional foreign trade. Many sellers have maintained their business in the US market through overseas warehouse inventory and transit trade, and some strong brand enterprises have even achieved an increase in order volume.
Our victory this time is a victory for the supply chain, "Wang Li told reporters." In the long run, it is still very important for brands to go global
At present, the short-term dividends brought by this tariff adjustment have revitalized the foreign trade industry. In the long run, measures such as expanding new markets and strengthening brand building are also efforts by foreign trade enterprises to break away from dependence on a single channel.
No matter how policies change after 90 days, this self reform in China's foreign trade industry has quietly begun.
跨境急单潮涌：美国买家不再讨价还价，中国工厂昼夜赶工
2025年05月19日 20:45 21世纪经济报道 21财经APP 董静怡
21世纪经济报道记者董静怡 上海报道 中美大幅降低双边关税水平，沉寂已久的中美贸易市场仿佛一夜之间被激活。
据新华社报道，5月12日，中美双方发布《中美日内瓦经贸会谈联合声明》。本次中美经贸高层会谈取得实质性进展，大幅降低双边关税水平，美方取消了共计91%的加征关税，中方相应取消了91%的反制关税；美方暂停实施24%的“对等关税”，中方也相应暂停实施24%的反制关税。
这次关税下调，至少留出了一个90天的出货窗口期，库存量见底的美国客户都在最近几天加快下单。
阿里国际站商家、上海威迩达遮阳设备有限公司总经理丁林锋向21世纪经济报道记者表示，5月12日关税下调当晚，还没寒暄庆祝，美国客户上来就直接要求下一集装箱的货，货值10万美元。另一个长期联系的美国老客户也打算下1-2个柜，总金额在15万美元左右。
像丁林锋这样的商家不在少数，在关税下降至今的一周时间里，之前美国业务暂停的外贸工厂都在密集接单、生产、发货。全球海运订单追踪系统维齐恩表示，中美达成关税共识后，在美国下单的从中国到美国的集装箱预订量激增近300%。
然而与此同时，90天后的政策不确定性仍笼罩着行业。
美国客户们普遍在未雨绸缪，不仅要求恢复暂停的订单，还加大了采购量，囤积未来几个月的库存。据外贸工厂向记者反映，客户下订单后第一件事就是定交期，甚至都不讨价还价了。
外贸工厂们则加快了探索新市场、开拓新业务的步伐，以应对未来可能的变化。“多条腿走路，我们未来的生存能力就更强。”丁林锋向记者表示。
90天后，中美贸易政策是否会再次调整？高额关税是否会再现？没有人敢掉以轻心。
大单回来了
在过去的一个多月里，美国进口商们面临着巨大的成本压力，由于关税的增加，许多企业无力承担额外的费用，导致订单数量急剧减少，海运量也出现了大幅下滑。宝通达国际物流华东区总监岳炳文向记者表示，他接触的传统B端外贸企业们发往美国市场的货量减少了70%。
据新华社报道，5月12日，中美双方发布《中美日内瓦经贸会谈联合声明》。本次中美经贸高层会谈取得实质性进展，大幅降低双边关税水平。
5月13日一早7点30分，义乌市璟文进出口有限公司总经理吴庆芬打开手机就看到了一笔“久违”的大订单，一个美国客户直接爽快下单了30万双袜子。
她来来回回看了好几遍，确认之后，激动地把这个好消息转进了公司群里，“已经有一个月没有接到这么大的单子了。”
“一般情况下，我们都是早上九点上班之后才开始沟通，因为有时差，客户们也都会等一等。”吴庆芬向记者表示，这个“提前”的订单，可以看出客户确实比较着急。
跟随着大单，好消息也是接二连三。因为前期关税一再上调，不少已经下单的美国客户要求暂停生产，这次纷纷要求赶紧复工生产。
璟文进出口有限公司的生产线上有200多台袜子机，每台机器每天能生产300—400双袜子。经过吴庆芬的核算，生产线即将进入满负荷运转状态，仅完成这份30万双袜子的订单就需要持续生产到6月底。
同样的景象也发生在深圳市麦祺佳家居。“知道订单会来，没想到一天内就来个4个新订单，总计30万美元。”深圳市麦祺佳家居有限公司总经理王莉向记者表示，5月13日的订单金额几乎顶平时半个月的订单总额。她粗略计算了一下，本周计划要出8个集装箱货柜的货去美国。
麦祺佳家居有不少美国客户是亚马逊卖家，关税不断上调的时候，他们订单照下，但是不让出货。那时，货物一直存放在工厂里，而王莉手头只有30%的定金，“说实话心里还是蛮担心的。”王莉表示。
王莉承认，目前公司对资金的需求较大，因为库存积压会影响资金周转。她向记者估算称，其公司每月的营业额约为100万美元，正常的库存周转率大概是6次，但因为积压问题，周转率下降，导致其可能只能完成4次周转，影响了公司的利润。
但库存积压在这一个月里是非常普遍的现象，无论是国内的外贸工厂还是美国客户，在面对高额关税时只能等待。
王莉表示，在最近的展会上，他们与一些熟悉的供应商和同行朋友交流后发现，大家都有一些货物积压在仓库里，都在等待合适的时机。不过，大家普遍比较乐观，认为这种情况只是暂时的，对整体市场仍保持信心。
转机也如期而至。“现在客户们的尾款都付过来了，通知赶紧出货。”王莉向记者表示，“仓库里放的那些货，只希望在一两周之内全部出完。”
海运费用或将大涨
随着中美大幅降低双边关税水平，中美航线迅速恢复了往日的繁忙景象，市场活跃度大幅提升。岳炳文向记者表示，根据最近的观察，出货量暴增的情况十分明显，相较于一周前，客户的出货量至少增长了3到6倍。
全球海运订单追踪系统维齐恩相关负责人表示，截至5月5日的7天平均预订量为5709个标准箱，截至5月14日的7天平均预订量飙升277%至21530个标准箱，“由于大幅降低双边关税水平，我们可以看到预订量正在回升。”
集装箱航运信息公司Linerlytica在5月12日发布的一份报告中表示，贸易局势的缓和要早于许多人的预期，这将推动未来三个月内跨太平洋货运量激增。由于货运量反弹的时间恰逢美国传统的夏日购物旺季，预计航运费用将在近期飙升。
而中美航线上的船却是不足的。岳炳文向记者表示，由于加征关税，前期一个月内货量大幅下降，导致航运市场受到显著影响。
通常情况下，例如从宁波或上海到洛杉矶的航线，船公司会配置4到6条船以维持正常运营。然而，由于此前货量下降60%到70%，部分航线的船只无法满载运行，若强行发船，船公司将面临亏损，因此船公司选择暂停部分航线的发船计划，将部分闲置船只调配至欧洲、东南亚、中东以及非洲等其他市场。
即便目前中美贸易恢复活跃，船公司仍需要一定时间来完成内部协调，因此这些船只在短期内难以重新回归原航线，这就导致容易出现舱位供应不足的现象。
目前，中美海运航线的市场报价非常混乱，有物流商向记者表示，有的加了500美元，有的加了1000美元、1500美元。
还有物流商向记者透露，有舱位代理商会利用这一机会，通过回收舱位并以高价重新出售，从而抬高舱位价格。这种行为进一步加剧了舱位的紧张局面。
外贸工厂也预料到了这种情况，正在加紧生产，尽量提早出货。丁林锋向记者表示，目前正优化生产流程，提高效率，尽可能提前完成生产，避免在物流舱位需求最高峰时订舱。
“预计在未来两周、三周甚至一个月后，订舱的需求会暴增，物流成本也会上升。”丁林锋表示，“我们4万元能发的货可能会增加到10万元，但比起145%的关税，成本还是较低的，我们不会因物流成本上升而停止发货。”
岳炳文预测，到6月出货量都会很大，价格也会持续上涨。
不确定性仍在
海运市场上的供不应求，除了原本外贸客户的积压订单恢复发货，也来了更多新订单。90天后的不确定性，仍然如同达摩克利斯之剑，悬在中国外贸工厂和美国客户的头顶之上。
吴庆芬向记者表示，按照常理，客户只需要求他们恢复之前暂停的订单即可，但事实上，客户不仅要求恢复生产，还下达了新的订单。根据该客户的采购规模，此次订单量是以往的两倍。
“我认为客户想要多囤一些货，避免90天以后会有一些新的变数。”吴庆芬表示。
王莉也向记者表示，她手头的美国客户基本都到了补货阶段，再加上大家对90天后的关税政策依然抱有不确定性，从目前的订单金额来看，基本上都是往三四个月的库存量在囤。
“大家都在抢这个窗口期，赶紧把圣诞节、‘黑色星期五’等节假日前的货补齐。”王莉表示。
客户们都比较着急，要求这些订单在这90天内到达美国并清关结束。据外贸工厂们向记者反映，近期他们普遍在加班加点，尽量缩短生产周期，同时针对不同紧急程度的订单进行优先级排序的调整。
而90天后会怎样，无论是工厂还是美国客户，都没人预测得到。
“关税可能还会有调整。”宁波新东方工贸有限公司CEO朱秋城向记者表示，如果现在接了大批量订单却做不到在窗口期内及时发货，仍然存在不小的风险。
而被风险来回折磨的外贸工厂们，不再想在90天后继续被动的等待，他们正在尝试找回更多主动性。
在加紧完成这批订单的同时，吴庆芬已经在考虑转向其他市场。在过去的半个月里，他们开始考虑不同的市场和平台，包括东南亚、非洲以及国内市场，思考如何通过这些市场实现更好的过渡，并拓展客户来源。她向记者表示，如果之后的情况不容乐观，他们会在六七月份去非洲市场考察。
主营房车遮阳篷的丁林锋不想放弃房车保有量第一的美国市场，但他也表示，面对未来的不确定性，给自己“留一手”是很重要的。
“无论是在欧洲、中东国家，还是共建‘一带一路’国家，我们都要看看这些市场中的潜在机会，并及时把握。”丁林锋向记者表示，“多条腿走路，意味着我们未来的生存能力就更强。”
王莉则在考虑扩大C端的布局。之前他们已经在做跨境电商平台Temu，今年打算做自己的独立站。
她认为，一方面，自主品牌的溢价能力相对较高，能够提升产品附加值；另一方面，企业能够直接掌控终端零售价格，在面对关税调整等不确定性因素时能灵活调价，不至于陷入被动。
事实上，在这波关税变动里，跨境电商受到的冲击远远小于传统外贸，许多卖家凭借海外仓存货以及转口贸易等形式维持了美国市场的业务，一些品牌力较强的企业甚至还实现了订单量的增长。
“我们这次的胜利是供应链的胜利，”王莉向记者表示，“长期来说的话，品牌出海还是非常重要的。”
目前来看，这次关税调整带来的短期红利已经让外贸行业重新焕发活力。而长期来看，拓展新市场、加强品牌建设等举措也是外贸企业努力摆脱对单一渠道依赖的努力。
无论90天后的政策如何变化，中国外贸行业的这场自我革新已经悄然开始。