Shipments are moving; change is worrying: Freightos survey of SMBs

As many as 43 percent of small and medium businesses (SMBs) who froze imports in April are now rushing shipments, creating a compressed early peak season that will likely cause summer congestion.

"42 percent still rate impact at maximum 10/10 (down from 60 percent in April), with many calling the situation existential," says the latest survey of 100+ SMB U.S. importers conducted between May 14-17, 2025 by Freightos. The survey followed an earlier one conducted in early April, also across some 200 small U.S. businesses.

"The 90-day tariff implementation delay (after the China-U.S. deal) hasn't done much to ease importer concerns. Small importers remain deeply anxious, are shifting behaviour - including changing shipment timing or even contending winding down their businesses - and are starting to adapt for the long-term. While some are assessing domestic manufacturing, very few actually have. Meanwhile, delays in shipments as a result of tariffs led to significant gaps that importers are struggling to fill."

Key views:
"I'm unable to import goods. 30 percent is still too high for a small business.

*It is an existential threat to the viability of my business.

*Expenses have shot up and I was upside-down on a few deals because of the tariffs. I’d be lucky to break even this year.

*No way to plan ahead. With daily changes and confusion, we couldn’t know what would happen next and what we should do about pricing; and

*We have discontinued any imports for the rest of the year after having to pay 145 percent on our last shipment..it’s likely we will go out of business."

It appears that the tariff impact has yet to trickle down to consumer spending, the report added. "Businesses believed that Memorial Day sales would remain mostly intact – the average impact score was 4.3/10 and only 20 percent rated it 7 or higher when asked how disruptive the tariffs will be to holiday sales."

One of the stated goals of the tariffs was to change U.S. sourcing patterns. Supply chain changes can be drawn out but small businesses are typically more agile and can adapt faster. However, changes remain minimal – 30 percent of businesses are considering it and only six percent have actually done so.. in general, the tone has shifted from panic to exhaustion, the report added.