Congestion at Yantian Port has extended to surrounding ports. As a large number of ships cancel calls at Yantian Port, which is severely congested, it has brought a serious burden to surrounding ports - delays at Nansha Port and Shekou Port continue to increase.
Affected by congestion at Yantian port, blank flights rose 300% in the first half of June, and container freight continued to soar to unprecedented levels.
Analysts at project44 said that between June 1 and 15, 298 voyages of global container liners were suspended, with a total capacity of more than 3 million TEUs, which means that the number of suspended voyages within a month increased by 300%. While not all air travel is caused by Yantian International Container Terminal, the impact is clear.
Josh Brazil, vice president of marketing for project44, said: “While the Yantian port was the epicenter of the accident, these numbers are causing trouble for the entire shipping industry, especially those companies that rely on these routes. Even if not directly affected by the situation in Yantian of freight would also be implicated as operators adjust their networks to avoid congestion."
Josh Brazil said the number of blank sailings was still rising as of June 24 and will decline after that, depending on the port and southern China continuing to bring the outbreak under control.
Maersk said that as of June 21, the parking lot density in Nansha has reached 100%, and it is expected that ships in Nansha Port will continue to be delayed for 4-5 days in the next week. Nansha will only accept export containers that are loaded seven days before the vessel's estimated arrival time, and only if the trucking company has confirmed advance bookings at the terminal. The supply of 40-foot containers in Yantian and Shekou is still tight, and Maersk recommends customers to use 20-foot containers as an alternative.
The port of Shekou, which includes Chiwan Container Terminal, Mawan Container Terminal and Shekou Container Terminal, has tightened rules to only accept locks full of export cargo within four days before the vessel's expected arrival time.
The Port of Shekou (including Chiwan Container Terminal, Mawan Container Terminal and Shekou Container Terminal) has tightened its rules to only accept export bookings within 4 days of the ship's arrival. As far as Yantian itself is concerned, Maersk reported that the operating capacity of the east area of the terminal was about 54% of normal capacity and gradually recovered, with the yard density down to 60%. Maersk expects flights to Yantian to be "delayed by more than four days" in the coming week.
On June 21, Maersk reported that the number of vessels operated by Maersk and its partners had increased to 90 canceling calls at Yantian, up from 84 last week. Containers of imported cargo on these ships are expected to be delayed by more than three weeks.
Project44 has warned that even if operations return to normal, it could take weeks to process the backlog of containers. "If the Chinese authorities extend their strict control measures, the daily blank sailing rate of up to double digits could extend into July, throwing supply chains at this globally important port into chaos until the summer," the analyst said.
At present, the container shipping market is facing various problems caused by cargo backlog, ship delays, port skipping, shortage of containers and space. Some analysts said that once the port resumes normal operations, it is expected that there will be a surge in demand for cargo exports in the next 2-5 weeks, as well as a chain reaction due to the interruption of the deployment of empty containers returning to South China. The follow-up impact of this incident will be It will last more than half a year.
Flexport chief executive Ryan Petersen said there was no single solution to the shipping delays disrupting the global economy. Addressing this global shipping delay "may take some time", especially with the holiday season and Christmas just around the corner.
At the same time, persistent congestion, capacity and equipment shortages are driving container rates higher. On June 17, Drewry's World Containerized Composite Index rose 3.4%, or $231, to $6,957.44/FEU. Shanghai-Rotterdam prices rose 6% from the previous week to $11,196 per TEU, a 534% increase year-on-year. Drewry expects rates to rise in the coming week due to GRI implementation, high volumes and equipment shortages.
Congestion in southern China has led to congestion surcharges imposed by shipping companies, FAKs and premiums continue to rise. For the week ended June 18, S&P Global Platts said premium service charges were $9,000-$10,000/FEU for shipments from North Asia to the U.S. Pacific coast. Freight rates to the U.S. Atlantic coast (transatlantic to east U.S.) are significantly higher than transpacific, with all premium bookings costing more than $15,000/FEU, but sources say rates are closer to $18,000 to $20,000 USD/FEU. "Premiums are approaching the FAK rates in March and April," said a North American shipper. Inland container flows at destination ports are slow, empty flights are increasing, freight rates are rising further, and even premium services cannot guarantee space. It is recommended to book four weeks in advance.
Asia-U.S. (Trans-Pacific route): Seats on the West Coast/East Coast of North America are tight; due to multiple factors such as port congestion, delays in shipping schedules, capacity imbalances, delays in inland transportation, and the continued strong demand for imports in the Americas, many Shipping companies announced that the GRI and PSS will be raised and levied in July; further increases in freight rates in July are inevitable. It should be noted that: due to port congestion, transportation capacity is in short supply, and the rotating pressure of empty containers increases; shipping companies are limited to receiving goods from inland points.
Asia-Europe routes: The European and Mediterranean markets have strong demand, and the shipping space is very tight. The SCFI index for the European route has risen steadily, and the freight rate has reached a record high; due to the epidemic prevention and control measures in South China, the terminal has tightened the operation process and the operation is slow; ships have successively cancelled calls At Yantian Wharf, some cargoes choose to go north for shipment from East China, and the shortage of containers in the East China market will further intensify in the next few weeks. Freight rates will continue to rise.
This article comes from the shipping network