More than 36% of the world’s container fleet is blocked in ports in different parts of the world
According to the Clarksons Port Congestion Index, port congestion is growing on many continents. So, at the beginning of July 2022, about 36.2% of the world’s container fleet was stuck in various ports, while in the pre-pandemic years (from 2016 to 2019) this figure was approximately 31.5%.
Terminals in Chinese ports such as Ningbo, Shenzhen and Hong Kong are under pressure due to congestion in shipyards and berths due to ongoing measures to combat COVID-19 and the typhoon season. It is reported that in other key Asian ports, the load density of shipyards reaches 80% in Singapore and even higher – 85% – in the main port of South Korea, Busan.
In Europe, a series of strikes, an increase in new cases of COVID-19 and congestion of ships arriving from Asia have led to congestion in many ports, including Antwerp, Hamburg, Le Havre and Rotterdam.
In Latin America, ongoing nationwide protests have hampered ports in Ecuador, while the cyberattack that disabled Costa Rica’s customs systems two months ago is still causing problems, and Mexico is one of the worst affected by port congestion. It is reported that in a number of ports, the traffic density is 90%, which leads to serious delays.
Waiting times for the approach to the pier in the Port of New York/New Jersey last more than 19 days, and near the Port of Savannah queues are approaching record levels for this region-7-10 days. The situation is even worse on the West Coast, where ships are forced to wait from a week to 27 days for a seat at the Auckland International Container Terminal.
