For importers rushing to beat tariffs, it’s life on the edge

In January, the toys were loaded onto ships for voyages across the Pacific Ocean and through the Panama Canal. In February and again in March, President Trump imposed new tariffs on China. The toys arrived in Houston on March 12, days after the 20% tariff took effect. The cost to Hart: an additional $20,000.

Hart said he tried everything he could, within legal means, to avoid the tariffs. He wondered if he could claim exemptions because the cargo shipped in January or because the toys were educational. Ultimately he resigned himself to taking the hit.

“I was in denial, and once I reached acceptance I began to wonder what this was going to do to our business long term," he said.

Trump has made tariffs a signature part of his second term, using the levies both as a negotiating tactic and a strategy he says will revive American manufacturing. The rollout has been volatile. A 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian products was first scheduled to go into effect Feb. 4 but then was delayed by a month at the last minute. The levy took effect as scheduled on March 4—but within days, it was suspended again until April 2.

The on-again, off-again approach has sent jitters through the business world. It has thrown importers’ operations into chaos. Even careful planning isn’t enough to spare them from tens of thousands of dollars in unexpected costs.

Some businesses pulled forward orders starting late last year to stockpile goods ahead of potential new duties. Others paused shipments while they await a possible reprieve. Still others already are looking to raise prices to make up for the new costs.

As tariffs loomed, the Port of Los Angeles saw a surge of business in January.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California, the main gateway for imports from China, are being flooded with container volumes last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic. The port complex handled the equivalent of 955,480 import containers in January, a 25% increase from the same month last year.

In Canada and Mexico, factories are seeing wild swings in purchasing. Stocks of finished goods in both countries in December and in January rose at the fastest pace in years, according toS&P Global survey data. The inventory levels stopped growing in February in Canada and fell in Mexico after U.S. importers stocked up on goods in efforts to beat the deadline.

Business owners and logistics executives say any delay—from a longer-than-expected ocean voyage from China to a flat tire in Mexico—can now make the difference between having to pay thousands in tariffs.

Zach Frew, the co-founder of Boston-based Grounded Labs, contracted to place a container of his company’s devices, which make designs using sand art, on a ship leaving China on Jan. 29. But his shipment was bumped to a different ship at the last minute, a common occurrence in ocean shipping that usually adds time but not cost.

Instead, this time, the container ended up departing Feb. 5 at an extra cost of nearly $23,000, as the products inside were by then subject to Trump’s 10% duty on all Chinese imports.

At least that shipment made it across the border before an extra 10% tariff was added. Frew now has two more containers on the way that face estimated additional tariffs of $54,000 after the 20% levy kicked in. “It’s investments that we can’t make in the business," he said.

Jordan Dewart, president of Mexico operations for logistics provider Redwood Logistics, said one auto-parts shipment was hit with a bill for about $50,000 during the brief period the 25% tariff on goods from Mexico was in effect after the trucker carrying the load was delayed by a flat tire.

Dewart said the delay wasn’t an isolated occurrence. “We had several other ones that, not necessarily due to a flat tire but due to general circumstances like documents not being submitted or filed in a timely manner, massive duties were incurred," he said.

There are signs now that companies are waiting to see what comes next before importing goods. Joachim Goller, a senior vice president of North America road logistics for Kuehne + Nagel, one of the world’s largest freight forwarders, said cross-border trade between Mexico and the U.S. plummeted the day the tariffs went into force and hasn’t fully recovered since.

“It looks like there was damage done," Goller said. “There is just less being ordered in the States and there is less crossing the border right now."

Chuck Gregorich, chief executive of outdoor-products retailer Net Health Shops, said he ordered patio furniture, hammocks and stands, gardening supplies and indoor furniture from Chinese suppliers in August and September that are scheduled to ship in the next three months.

“It’s going to cost me an additional $850,000 in additional tariffs that I did not plan," said Gregorich, who noted that other levies could be placed on the shipments depending how his products are classified. “That’s a lot of capital it’s eating up." Gregorich said he plans to raise prices to help cover the costs.

Businesses that manufacture their goods in the U.S. are getting swept up, too.

Necktie seller Beau Ties of Vermont imports silk from China and makes its products in Middlebury, Vt. Owner Greg Shugar said he placed an order in December with his supplier for 3½ times as much fabric as usual after hearing Trump’s promises on the campaign trail to slap hefty duties on Chinese goods.

“I was hoarding," Shugar said. "I thought, I need to buy this because there’s going to be a tariff coming." He said he loaded up on black fabric for tuxedo bow ties, bestselling solids like red and navy, and florals for the spring wedding season.

He avoided tariffs on that shipment. But he now has less cash on hand to invest in his business. “My eye’s off the ball. I can’t focus on growth," Shugar said. “It is chaotic for us as a small business."

Write to Liz Young at liz.young@wsj.com and Paul Berger at paul.berger@wsj.com