In order to bring copper in before the tariffs take effect, U.S. copper imports reached a record high in April

Data shows that in April this year, the import volume of copper in the United States surged to a record high. Some commodity trading giants, including Mercuria Energy Group and Trafigura Group, have accelerated their shipping speeds to bring copper into the U.S. ahead of potential import tariffs.

Media reports indicate that according to high-frequency shipping data from IHS Markit, over 170,000 tons of refined copper were shipped to the U.S. last month, setting a new record since this data began being recorded in 2014. If this data is ultimately confirmed by the U.S. official trade data for April, it will surpass the official record set in November 2001, when approximately 142,000 tons were imported.

Since late February, the rush to transport copper has rapidly intensified. At that time, U.S. President Trump announced the initiation of an investigation to consider whether to impose tariffs on copper imports based on national security reasons. Typically, such investigation procedures take several months, but this investigation seems more like a formality, and tariffs are likely to be implemented. As a result, traders began to act, even buying large quantities of copper from distant markets such as Asia and shipping it to the U.S. to seize this arbitrage opportunity before the tariffs take effect.

Mercuria is one of the main players in this wave of imports. The company warned that this rush to acquire copper could deplete global copper inventories and drive prices to new highs. Although copper prices initially plummeted after the Trump administration introduced a package of tariff policies in early April, prices quickly rebounded as spot market supplies became increasingly tight.

Currently, copper inventories at the Shanghai Futures Exchange are decreasing at an unprecedented rate; available inventories at the London Metal Exchange are also declining as a large number of traders are withdrawing metal from warehouses in Asia. IHS Markit data shows that Mercuria is even shipping copper directly from China to the U.S., a route that is extremely rare and has only occurred once since records began, during a short squeeze on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Comex) that created a similar arbitrage opportunity.

In addition to Mercuria, another commodity giant, Trafigura, has also shipped large quantities of copper to the U.S. Meanwhile, the trading divisions of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Macquarie Group Ltd have also participated in this wave of copper transportation