The COVID-19 epidemic has paralyzed the shipping supply chain. Global container shortages and port congestion incidents have continued to occur, and the port congestion problem continues to worsen.
Currently, about 400 container ships around the world are stuck in queues at ports, and the container shipping market is facing the biggest crisis in the 65 years since the advent of container ships.
The British Financial Times quoted data provided by logistics company Kuehne+Nagel as saying that there are currently 353 container ships queuing up at ports around the world waiting to unload, and the congestion is even twice that of the beginning of this year. above.
Take the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on the west coast of the United States as an example. There are currently 22 ships waiting for berths, and the ships need to wait at least 12 days to anchor and unload the cargo.
According to Drewry’s latest report, among the 496 sailings on major routes such as trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic, Asia to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, cancellations were announced between weeks 31 and 34. The number of voyages has reached 24, with a cancellation rate of 5%.
According to the latest statistics from Seaexplorer, there are as many as 396 container ships berthed in ports around the world.
Global port congestion as of August 13: (red dots represent ship groups, orange represents ports with congestion or operational disruption)
The biggest cause of global freight congestion is the different border control measures in various countries under the impact of the epidemic, as well as the forced shutdown of many factories, endangering the smoothness of the entire supply chain and resulting in lower freight rates in China, the United States and Europe. Soaring.
Some experts pointed out that the supply chain is unable to cope with the surge in terminal demand, and the port infrastructure is old, causing the container shipping industry to experience the biggest crisis in 65 years, which further highlights the lack of investment in the industry. question.
Ningbo Zhoushan Port Meishan Terminal is closed
After a worker at the Ningbo Zhoushan Port Terminal was diagnosed, the port’s electronic information platform issued a statement that due to a system interruption, all inbound and outbound container services at the Meishan Terminal of Ningbo Zhoushan Port were suspended on the 11th until further notice.
The entry time for export containers is limited to two days from the ship’s expected arrival time. At present, CMA, Hapag-Lloyd, COSCO and other shipping companies have issued notices that some ships will jump to Ningbo and divert to Shanghai.
In fact, due to the impact of Typhoon “Fireworks” last month, Shanghai and Ningbo ports have already experienced congestion, and the increase in new coronavirus testing of port workers and restrictions on crew changes have led to delays. .
According to reports, about 140 container ships are waiting at the outer anchorages of the two ports. Meishan Terminal MSICT accounts for about 25% of Zhoushan Port’s throughput, raising concerns about supply chain disruptions.
However, there have been no reports of new positive cases so far, and operations in other port areas except Meishan Port Area are normal.
Affected by the epidemic, congestion in the West has intensified again
Affected by the epidemic, congestion at ports on the West Coast of the United States has once again intensified. According to the latest data from the Signal platform of the Port of Los Angeles, there are currently 20 container ships waiting at the anchorage in Southern California, and 14 ships waiting outside the port. The number of waiting ships has increased from 30 in the previous period to 34, with an average waiting rate of berthing. The time increased to 6.2 days from 5.8 days in the previous period.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast of the United States, trucking was also delayed for about two weeks, resulting in extended container detention times.
Data show that the average detention time of U.S. containers has increased by 35%, which is equivalent to a 35% reduction in available shipping capacity. The prolonged detention of containers further exacerbates a growing chassis shortage in the Midwest and Northeast of the United States.
In addition, railway congestion has also led to delays in the delivery of imported goods from the United States, making it difficult for empty containers to be quickly returned to Asia.
The National Retail Federation expects import volumes at U.S. ports to surge early in the traditional peak season in August, suggesting to many industry observers that importers are placing orders early to avoid the holidays Delays in merchandise.
“We have been shipping Christmas products since May. As long as there is space, there are people trying to ship products to the United States, and importers will not wait until September.” An American The director of the logistics company said.
Freight forwarders suspend new bookings for European and American cargo worth less than US$70,000
Faced with skyrocketing freight rates on European and American routes, as well as the rapidly rising risks of cargo abandonment and freight repayment at destination ports, some freight forwarding companies have recently begun to announce that they will stop accepting goods worth less than US$70,000. Booking service! !
Faced with risks, freight forwarders began to refuse customers:
Faced with rising freight costs, freight forwarding funds The chain is under pressure, and finding a balance between risks and benefits is a strange current situation and a helpless move.
Three cases of asymptomatic infection were found in Alashankou, and China-Europe traffic throats sounded the alarm o:p>
A few days ago, in the Alashankou Port area of Bozhou, Xinjiang, three people were found to have positive nucleic acid test results during a routine nucleic acid test every three days. Experts diagnosed all of them as asymptomatic COVID-19 infections and have been transferred to Bozhou. Designated hospitals conduct isolation medical observation.
Alashankou City quickly carried out epidemiological investigations and virus traceability work on people who tested positive for nucleic acid tests, and has now basically grasped the activities of three asymptomatic infections. Currently, 98 close contacts and 88 sub-close contacts have been identified, and all of them have been placed under centralized isolation and medical observation.
The sudden emergence of three positive cases of COVID-19 in Alashankou this time has made this most important land port connecting Asia and Europe the focus of the international logistics industry. Has the port operation of Alashankou been affected? There is currently no definite news on the impact of the epidemic.
Shippers and freight forwarding logistics companies need to pay clear attention and learn about the developments with local port partners in a timely manner! </p
