Note! Port Congestion Is Spreading Across The Globe Again! Schedule Reliability Remains At An All-time Low...
Jul 06, 2022
Clarkson noted: "Although the volume of trade so far in 2022 has been affected by a variety of factors, the ongoing disruption caused by port congestion remains highly favorable for the charter market."
German carrier Hapag-Lloyd released an updated operational report on Friday, highlighting the myriad congestion problems faced by carriers and shippers around the world.
Asia: Due to the ongoing outbreak and seasonal typhoons, China's major port terminals such as Ningbo, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong will face pressure from yard and berth congestion.
Other major ports in Asia, Singapore, reportedly have an 80 percent yard density, while South Korea's largest port, Busan, has a higher yard density of 85 percent.
Europe: The start of summer vacations, rounds of strikes, rising COVID-19 cases, and an influx of ships from Asia have created congestion in many ports such as Antwerp, Hamburg, Le Havre, and Rotterdam.
Latin America: Ongoing nationwide protests have hampered port operations in Ecuador, while further north, cyberattacks on Costa Rica's customs system two months ago are still causing trouble. Mexico is one of the countries most affected by the spread of port congestion, with many ports reportedly having a 90 percent density of yards, causing severe delays.
North America: Reports of terminal delays have dominated shipping news headlines throughout the pandemic, and heading into July, they remain worrisome, Hapag-Lloyd noted.
EAST AMERICA: Berth wait times in New York/New Jersey are over 19 days, while berth wait times in Savannah are near record levels of 7 to 10 days.
Latin America: Ongoing nationwide protests have hampered port operations in Ecuador, while further north, cyberattacks on Costa Rica's customs system two months ago are still causing trouble. While Mexico is one of the countries most affected by the spread of port congestion, with many ports reportedly having a 90 percent density of yards, causing severe delays.
North America: Reports of terminal delays have dominated shipping news headlines throughout the pandemic, and heading into July, they remain worrisome, Hapag-Lloyd noted.
EAST AMERICA: Berth wait times in New York/New Jersey are over 19 days, while berth wait times in Savannah are near record levels of 7 to 10 days.
West-Of-America: On July 1, the two sides of the West-West U.S. Dock workers failed to reach an agreement, which cast a shadow over the sabotage and strike at the West-West U.S. Terminal. From January to June this year, U.S. imports from Asia rose 4 percent, while imports through the U.S. and Spain fell by 3 percent, and the U.S. share of U.S. imports fell to 54 percent of U.S. imports as a whole from 58 percent last year. Meanwhile, both the Eastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico saw double-digit growth, particularly the Gulf of Mexico, which increased by nearly 30 percent. While attention was focused on the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Oakland was in trouble, with German carriers warning any vessel that it would need to wait 7 to 27 days for a berth at the Oakland International Container Terminal.
Canada: The situation on the West Coast is terrible, largely due to limited rail availability, with Vancouver facing "severe delays" and yard densities reaching 90 percent, according to Hapag-Lloyd. At the same time, the utilization rate at the Prince Rupert terminal is as high as 113%, and the current average stay time on the railway is 17 days. The stranding is mainly due to the lack of available rail vehicles.
Capacity withdrawals from the market in May 2022 remain higher than in 2020 and 2021. Sea-Intelligence warned: "This means we are in the early stages of the peak season and the global fleet is already short of more capacity than the same period in 2021."
At the start of the peak season, the current terminal woes have not yet translated into an improvement in current freight prices. Although still at unbelievable highs, freight prices will remain on a downward trend for much of 2022.
