Trump's tariff war has caused several Asian exporters to cancel container bookings, as recipients of U.S. cargo now fear having to pay higher prices for their goods.

After the US President imposed a 46 per cent tariff on Vietnamese goods, Taiwanese cardboard manufacturers with factories in Vietnam reported that they had to cancel up to 300 containers of goods.

Orders for May and beyond are also uncertain.

One manufacturer said: "We were told not to make any shipments in May because the tariffs are now putting pricing in doubt."

"Our customers have asked if we can reduce prices by 46 percent to offset the impact of tariffs, but that's not possible."

These manufacturers are now cutting factory operating hours and asking workers to work fewer days because of uncertainty about demand for their products.

During President Trump's first term (2017 to 2020), his trade war with China prompted manufacturers to diversify into Southeast Asia, Mexico and other emerging countries. This strategy, known as "China +1," has led to an increase in exports from these regions. Vietnamese authorities estimate that at the height of China +1, Vietnam exported 10,000 containers a day.

Now, however, freight forwarders say the number of last-minute cancellations is about 300 containers a day, a five-fold increase from before the tariffs took effect.

Linerlytica reported that tariffs have undermined ocean shipping companies' efforts to raise trans-Pacific freight rates and stalled contract negotiations in May.

"Weighted by container volume, the US effective tariff rate will rise sharply to 36 per cent, setting the stage for an all-out trade war, and our forecast for global container demand growth in 2025 has been lowered to -1.1 per cent," the consultancy said.

On Friday, the Shanghai Container Freight Index showed that freight rates between Shanghai and the West Coast of the United States rose 6% from the previous week to $2,313 per 40 feet, while Shanghai and the East Coast of the United States rose about 4% to $3,306 per 40 feet.

Linerlytica predicts: "However, these gains will be eroded in the coming weeks as orders are cancelled and freight bookings suffer due to US tariffs, and carriers will be forced to cut rates again."