Chinese Imports of US LPG Have Yet to Fully Recover, But Total US LPG Exports Are Up

January 8, 2026

Megan Kennedy at Marsoft gives some pointers on the current VLGC market:

VLGC rates are still seeing gains as we enter the new year. Spot rates on both the US–Japan and Middle East–Japan routes are currently above $60,000 per day, more than $20,000 per day higher than this time a year ago. Rates for these routes averaged a similar amount in December, and yet China has not returned fully to importing LPG from the US as it did before tariffs and the trade war between the two countries impacted volumes last year, causing a larger shift in trade patterns.

According to AIS data, Chinese imports of US LPG were 1.1 million tonnes in December 2025, compared to 1.7 million tonnes the same month of 2024. Historically, higher VLGC rates were, at least partially, attributed to increased long-haul volumes of US LPG to China, but this has not been the case more recently.

One explanation for recent higher-than-usual rates has to do with LPG price differentials between the US and Middle East (where the US is cheaper); US propane inventories reached record high levels over the last few months, according to the EIA. This set the stage for increased long-haul US exports to Asia, even though China wasn’t taking as much, AIS data shows many other Asian importers took advantage.

US LPG exports were up ~5% in December 2025 vs the same month a year earlier. Of this, Chinese imports of US LPG were down ~30%. However, Japan (up 15% compared to December 2024), South Korea (up 40%), India (up 60%), and other Asia (up 32%) all imported more from the US, more than making up for what China didn’t take.

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