Global port congestion at new high as more typhoons hit China

Seven MSC box ships 'go dark' as they resume Suez canal transits MSC has joined its peers in resuming Suez Canal transits, sending seven ships through the ... WTC: AHEAD OF EARNINGS CHRW: LACK OF MOMENTUM JBHT: HEALTHY CORRECTION VW: NEW AI PARTNERSHIPKNIN: RIP KMKMAERSK: ANOTHER UPGRADE DSV: STILL DOWN AMZN: LATAM INVESTMENT WMT: BULLET QUESTION WMT: CFO TO ANALYSTS WMT: EYES ON TARIFF REFUNDSWMT: HEADWINDSUPS: BEATING RISK-FREE BUTFDX: MULTI-BILLION CONTRACT WTC: AHEAD OF EARNINGS CHRW: LACK OF MOMENTUM JBHT: HEALTHY CORRECTION VW: NEW AI PARTNERSHIPKNIN: RIP KMKMAERSK: ANOTHER UPGRADE DSV: STILL DOWN AMZN: LATAM INVESTMENT WMT: BULLET QUESTION WMT: CFO TO ANALYSTS WMT: EYES ON TARIFF REFUNDSWMT: HEADWINDSUPS: BEATING RISK-FREE BUTFDX: MULTI-BILLION CONTRACT Global container port congestion has reached a new high as East Asia’s typhoon season continues to disrupt vessel schedules, with more than 4.3 million teu now waiting to berth. On Sunday, Typhoon Narra hit southern China, compounding cargo backlogs caused by typhoons Bavi, Noul, and Dolphin. And the situation is unlikely to be relieved any time soon, with Typhoon Saudel set to make landfall along the coast from central Zhejiang to central Fujian provinces – home to Ningbo and Xiamen ports – between Thursday night and Friday morning. The amount of stranded capacity has surpassed the previous peak of 4m teu recorded during Covid in 2022, but does represent a smaller share of the world container fleet today. Container shipping consultancy Linerlytica said today the 4.3m teu currently tied up equated to 12.6% of a global fleet now totalling 34.4m teu, compared with the 15.7% of the fleet’s 25.3m teu in 2022. The North Asian ports are bearing much of the disruption, accounting for roughly half of global congestion, with around 2.2m teu tied up, while South Africa’s Durban port is battling congestion due to equipment breakdowns – Africa accounting for just 9% of global port bottlenecks. Pressure is also emerging at the Panama Canal, where transit slots are due to be reduced further next month. For containerships holding pre-booked slots, however, delays remain limited for now. Meanwhile, the tightening supply of effective vessel capacity, combined with resilient demand, has provided support for transpacific freight rates. The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index showed rates from Shanghai to the US west and east coasts rising 1% on 14 August levels, to $6,765 and $9,700 per 40ft, respectively. Linerlytica said: “East coast rates continue to outperform, with capacity remaining in short supply that has been worsened by compounding congestion at Chinese ports and tightening draught restrictions on the Panama Canal. “Transpacific demand continues to edge upwards, with the strength continuing into September, in contrast to the sluggish European demand, where reduced capacity with vessels pushed out of position failed to lift rates there.” Linerlytica expects the divergence between the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades to persist for at least another month, with transpac rates likely to remain elevated as congestion and limited capacity continue to support the market. For uninterrupted access, sign in or sign up to The Daily News, Premium or The Loadstar Enterprise Plan. Comment on this article