Global liner container transportation has been out of balance, with port congestion, container supply mismatches, and freight rates hitting records repeatedly.
Data from Seaexplorer, a container transportation platform created by Kuehne+Nagel, shows that 101 ports around the world have reported disruptions such as congestion. According to a report from Dexun’s digital department, the number of vessels waiting in line for berths reached 350 at one point last week and then fell back to 304.
Port congestion is becoming a global problem
This year, firstly, there was a long queue of container ships in the two ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the United States. In the case of port congestion, as many as 40 container ships were waiting for berths in early February.
In late March, the "Ever Given" carrying 20124 containers stranded on the Suez Canal for nearly a week, causing delays for hundreds of ships traveling to and from Asia and Europe.
During this period, ports in some countries may be shut down due to the epidemic or strikes, which put pressure on already congested routes and ports.
Recently, affected by the new crown epidemic, my country's southeast ports such as Yantian Port have been forced to join the ranks.
In recent weeks, shipping congestion seen in important export regions has spread to other important hubs and continues.
The number of container ships waiting for a berth in Singapore has increased by 37.5% in the past week. It is reported that many shipping companies, including COSCO SHIPPING and CMA CGM, have decided to skip Singapore Port and not call in order to make up for the delay in Yantian Port. There has been a queue of ships in Asian internal ports such as Laem Chabang.
Ports on the east coast of the United States have also encountered various disruptions.
Also in order to curb the development of the epidemic, Malaysia has been completely blocked from June 1-14. Although port cargo operations are allowed, furniture factories are prohibited from operating, and more than 2,000 containers of export goods in the furniture industry have been forced to detain.
South Korean ports are also facing a large cargo backlog. In Busan Port, which accounts for more than 70% of the container throughput in South Korea, a large number of containers are stacked on top of each other, leaving only narrow passages to allow vehicles to pass.
Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, discussed the tense nature of global supply chains in an earlier article and warned that this has become the new normal. "The trend is worrying, and constant congestion is becoming a global problem," Maersk said.