Most ports expect an upturn in April as factory restarts in China. "What we predict is trade will come back slowly, and then it will come back with a roar," said Joseph Harris, a spokesman for the Virginia Port Authority, which operates terminals in Hampton Roads.

The snapshot of ports activity, coming as the US endures a deep economic shock caused by steps to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, is an early indication of how the coronavirus is affecting international trade.

Virginia Port Authority import volumes were down by 7.4 per cent in February from the same month a year earlier, but export volumes were up by 3.6 per cent in container equivalents, attributed to increases in soybean and processed pork exports to China.

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