The trade war initiated by Donald Trump against China is beginning to have a serious impact on the U.S. economy. Container port operators and air freight managers have reported sharp declines in the transport of goods from China. These effects are evident in the decrease of container bookings and the increase in cancellations of maritime and air services, reports the Financial Times.

Since the introduction of 145% tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S., container operators have seen a drastic drop in transport bookings to the country. According to data provided by Vizion, a container tracking company, bookings for 20-foot containers from China to the U.S. decreased by 45% compared to the same period last year.

The Port of Los Angeles, the main entry point for Chinese goods, expects scheduled arrivals for the week starting May 4 to be one-third lower than a year ago. Additionally, air freight managers have also reported significant declines in bookings.

With the arrival of the first shipments of Chinese containers facing tariffs, freight operators are observing changes in supply chains. Nathan Strang, director of ocean freight at the U.S. logistics company Flexport, noted that companies are waiting to ship goods while they hope Washington and Beijing reach an agreement to mitigate the tariffs. U.S. importers are exhausting stored inventories before importing new goods from China. They are also using customs warehouses where goods can be stored without paying taxes until they are removed. Other strategies include diverting goods to nearby countries like Canada.