- Global ports see rising container dwell times, especially in Jamaica, Bangladesh, South America, and parts of Africa.
- Yard and berth inefficiencies—rather than offshore delays—are the main cause of prolonged dwell times.
- Though ships at anchorage have decreased, port-side bottlenecks remain a major concern.
The latest Beacon Port Performance Report signals growing alarm over increasing container dwell times at major ports across North America, South America, Europe, and other regions. This trend persists despite a drop in the total number of ships handled in May compared to April, suggesting the bottlenecks are now shifting from sea to shore, according to Container News.
Kingston and Chittagong Among the Worst Performers
Kingston, Jamaica, is ranked as the poorest-performing port, with containers sitting for over 12 days—a clear indicator of yard congestion and poor throughput efficiency. Meanwhile, Chittagong, Bangladesh, continues to suffer severe operational challenges, with ships waiting over 71 hours just to berth. For the second month in a row, Chittagong remains among the least efficient global ports due to extended berth delays and anchorage congestion.
South American Ports Face Inland Inefficiencies
Ports in South America, particularly Colón in Panama and Cartagena in Colombia, have emerged as new bottlenecks. These delays stem not from offshore ship backlogs but from inefficient yard operations. Dwell times have reached over 9 days in Colón and 8.5 days in Cartagena, raising concerns about regional trade flow disruptions.
Africa Faces Rising Delays Amid Volume Growth
In Africa, Durban, South Africa, recorded an average berth wait of 3.8 days, with Mombasa, Keny,a close behind at 3.7 days. Mombasa also had containers dwelling for more than 4.5 days, signaling escalating congestion in East African ports as trade volumes climb. The spotlight is now on Transnet’s recovery initiatives to improve Durban’s port efficiency.
Taipei Outperforms in Berthing Efficiency
On the other end of the spectrum, Taipei stood out with the lowest average global berth time of just 0.38 days, reflecting excellent performance in ship turnaround and operational efficiency.
Ship Delays Shift from Sea to Shore
Although global ship calls declined by 11% month-on-month and vessel anchorage delays dropped by 27% in May—indicating progress at sea—the improvements haven’t translated ashore. Beacon Analytics noted a shift like delays: the focus is no longer on ships idling at anchor, but rather on overloaded yards struggling to clear containers. The bottleneck, it seems, has moved landslide.
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Source: Container News
