Bottlenecks at Asian and European ports are delaying nearly 10% of all container shipping capacity.
This, along with the 6.5% tied up by Red Sea diversions, is supporting charter rates, even as freight prices are trending downwards.
A Linerlytica report today says: “Chinese ports are experiencing a sharp rise in vessel arrivals that has coincided with poor weather and fog closures that have led to longer berthing delays, especially in Shanghai, Ningbo, and Qingdao.”
And EconDB data suggests outbound containers have to wait 2.5-4 days at these ports – each of which are expecting more than 100 box ships to call over the next week.
Singapore, the world’s largest transhipment hub, has a dwel time of seven days for that cargo, three days for imports, and two days for exports. It expects 233 box ships to arrive in the next week.
Busan, East Asia’s largest transhipment port, is also facing heavy traffic, with outbound ships having to wait up to six days, and 150 vessels scheduled to arrive in the next week.
Meanwhile, industrial action continues to delay ships at European ports, like Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Le Havre, resulting in container yards at full capacity, too.
EconDB shows outbound containers at Rotterdam waiting six days and a nine-day delay for transhipments. Le Havre has a waiting time of seven days for outbound ships and nearly six days for inbound vessels, even with just 39 expected to arrive in the next week. In Hamburg, outbound ships are waiting three days, with inbound queues of two days.
Linerlytica said these delays were expected to persist over the coming months and had played a part in MSC’s decision to redeploy its largest 24,000+ teu ships from North Europe to Mediterranean and West Africa routes.
The consultant added: “However, these diversions could also shift some of the congestion to these regions, with several Mediterranean ports also facing increased delays; Barcelona, Genoa, and La Spezia recently recording longer vessel waiting times.”
As these delays persist, so do firm charter rates, across all size segments.
Linerlytica said: “Chartering activity is focused on the 1,100teu and 1,800teu sizes, where rates continue to surpass last-done levels, as supply remains tight due to the low number of new ship deliveries and continued port congestion across all key feeder sectors in Asia, Middle East, and Europe.”
