- Extensive dwell times are reported at key ports due to the ongoing Red Sea crisis.
- Ports like Durban and Ningbo-Zhoushan are experiencing significant delays, with average wait times of up to 8 days.
- North American ports face stability issues, but potential strikes could exacerbate congestion.
The latest port congestion data reveals that shippers are grappling with extensive dwell times as the Red Sea crisis continues to take its toll, reports The Loadstar.
Red sea crisis
Today, Danish carrier Maersk warned customers it had to “implement recovery measures in the US to ensure schedule integrity” on its AMEX service that connects South Africa to the US.
The Jones Act is a federal statute that requires shipping between US ports to be done by ships constructed in the US, carry an American crew, and are US-flagged.
According to VesselFinder, 33 vessels have arrived at Freeport within the past 24 hours, with another 17 expected to arrive in the next 30 days.
Meanwhile, supply chain visibility platform Beacon noted the top five congested ports globally as: Durban, with an average 8-day wait time over H124; Ningbo-Zhoushan, with an average of 6.1 days; Vancouver, with 4.28 days; Los Angeles with 3.61 days; and Chittagong, with an average wait of 3.41 days.
According to its H1 24 congestion report, the ports with the largest wait time increase from Q1 are Charleston, Zhoushan, Jebel Ali, Manila, and Chittagong.
The report says 64% of the Southeast Asian ports Beacon analyzed saw rising congestion over the quarter. Manila reported the biggest increase in the region, adding nearly 20 hours to the average combined anchor and berth times.
In Europe, 12 of 18 analyzed ports reported increases, although only two saw the deterioration of more than five hours.
In East Asia, four of 26 ports reported increased average congestion in Q2, “suggesting the region is thus far coping pretty well with surging demand”. However, Ningbo-Zhoushan saw congestion rise by 17.7% in Q2.
According to Beacon, North American ports have seen “relatively stable congestion levels”, but looming strikes across the US East and Gulf Coast ports could put this in jeopardy.
Heightened congestion has stemmed from the Red Sea Crisis, with vessel utilization at 100% and idling at an all-time low to account for longer lead times, but port operations and infrastructure can’t cope with added volume.
Surging container shipping demand, caused by shippers front-loading to avoid delays, is also contributing to congestion.
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Source: The Loadstar
