Chinese electric vehicle and automotive manufacturers are scrambling to move their distribution elsewhere, in order to get around new U.S. tariffs on imports, says a report from logistics software company Container xChange.  

According to the Container xChange survey of 800 freight forwarders and supply chain professionals, the effects of the new 100% tariff on Chinese EVs imported into the U.S. are already being felt overseas. 

"In response, Chinese automotive and EV companies are working towards internationalizing their manufacturing, assembling and distribution processes to circumvent these tariff barriers," a Container xChange customer in China said. "Immediate effects are already visible where the manufacturers are rushing to ship these EVs to prevent tariffs and future uncertainties."

China has already been attempting to get around U.S. tariffs on other products like steel and aluminum by first selling them to Mexico, where they're then imported into the U.S. without the tax. That was backed up by data released by freight analytics company Xeneta in March, showing that shipping container exports from China to Mexico had gone up by 60% in January compared to the same month the previous year.

"It is probably the fastest growing trade on planet Earth right now," Xeneta chief analyst Peter Sand said. "A sizeable proportion of the goods arriving in Mexico by ocean will likely be trucked into the U.S., which gives rise to the suspicion that the increase in trade we are witnessing is due to importers trying to circumvent U.S. tariffs."

Meanwhile, three-quarters of container traders and leasing companies in China are reporting higher prices and a tighter market in May. Between April and May, Container xChange customers in China are reporting an 88% increase in average container prices. In addition to added shipping demand from EV manufacturers, those higher rates are also blamed on "anxiousness" to get containers out of the country as quickly as possible amid ongoing transit delays brought on by the Red Sea crisis.