Ports in the US, Japan, Australia, the Philippines etc. are facing congestion

Recently, the freight rates of most routes have continued to soar, and the space is difficult to find, and there is a shortage of containers. With the approach of China's Golden Week and Christmas shipping season, the demand for shipping in September has increased significantly.

However, due to the impact of the epidemic, the domestic export volume is much higher than the import volume. As a result, more containers are shipped out while empty containers are returned less.

In addition, ports in the United States, Japan, Australia, Nigeria, Los Angeles, Manila, Lagos, Algeria and other countries are all subject to a certain degree of congestion! You have to pay attention to shipments!

Large container ships aggravate the congestion of Japanese ports, and the terminals are struggling to cope

According to shipping sources, the large container ships deployed on East Asian routes have exacerbated the congestion in Japanese ports because the existing terminals are difficult to handle larger ships.

This problem caused the carrier to change the docking of the ship. In order to avoid the crowding of ships, delays and congestion, some container ships were forced to plan to leave in advance.

Among the existing berths in Tokyo, only one Y2 berth with a length of 400 meters (1312 feet) can handle ships exceeding 14,000 TEU. In April this year, a consortium including Mitsui-Soko and freight company Nippon Express opened the Y2 terminal.

However, the average berth length of Oi Container Terminal is 336m, and the average berth length of Aomi Container Terminal is 314m. This means that it can handle vessels of up to 8000 TEU, which also means the deployment of ultra-large container ships on Asia-Europe and trans-Pacific routes. Two berths are often occupied.

"The problem we are seeing is that the number of ships with a total length of 350 m or more docking in Japanese ports is increasing. The narrow storage space at the Tokyo terminal and the shortage of truck drivers are the main causes of congestion." Hapag-Lloyd ( Hapag-Lloyd) Japan Managing Director Nils Meier said.

"In Tokyo, most of the berths are 300-350 m long. When very large container ships dock at the same time, a lot of re-arrangements are often required."

This problem has exacerbated the shortage of container yards at the Tokyo terminal.

Meier said: “Tokyo’s new Y2 terminal has a berth of 400 m, which helps to alleviate this situation and also provides additional storage space. Hapag-Lloyd is less affected because we only have a few ships. Calls in Japan, and most of the ships are provided by our partners."

However, Ocean Network ONE frequently changes the ship rotation of Tokyo, Yokohama, and Shimizu to avoid delays caused by the gathering of ships. In addition, ONE is also moving the departure time of ships calling Tokyo and Nagoya by at least one day.

ONE's data shows that this will affect ships operating the Far East Pacific, Japan Strait and Malaysia routes. The ships affected in the next few days include 8,212-TEU ONE Hamburg and 8,084-TEU Conti Conquest, which serve the Far East Pacific Route 1, and NYK Diana and Bear Mountain Bridge on the Japan Strait-Malaysia route.

Empty containers increase yard congestion, and the already tight Australian supply chain is hit

It is reported that Sydney's empty container storage area is full, which further hinders Australia's already tight supply chain.

Since July, bad weather, sailing schedule changes and port strikes have all exacerbated congestion in Australian ports.

Last month, local freight forwarding company Sila Global stated that Sydney’s storage yard is “full and on the verge of collapse” and said in an email to customers that the situation is getting worse and that most ports are piled The field will be forced to close.

The freight forwarder said: "In this case, we will not be able to withdraw the container until the congestion is eliminated, which will bring additional costs to the importer."

"Ship scheduling is still a big issue, and the vehicle reservation system and performance issues, the recently upgraded Patrick Terminals strike action, and the issue of the cancellation of stacking to the terminal make the situation even more complicated."

"It is unclear how long the shutdown may last or when this congestion will ease."

A similar problem exists in Melbourne, which is under lockdown, and the container terminals there are becoming more and more crowded.

Sila said: "The completeness of the delivery schedule and the latest changes are still challenging. This not only puts additional pressure on Sydney, but also pressure on Melbourne's container terminals. Many companies choose to reroute their ships to Melbourne. Not Sydney."

Sila said that DP World expects a large number of ships to dock in the next two weeks. Patrick's operations will be hindered by the strike. VICT containers will need to wait two to three days before they can be picked up.

In Sydney, ACFS Port Logistics added 4,500 teu of empty containers near Port Botany last month.

Los Angeles port congestion: truck drivers or strike

Although the peak holiday season in the United States has not yet arrived, sellers are trying to prepare for the November and December shopping months in advance, and the momentum of the peak freight season has begun to appear, and port congestion has become increasingly serious.

With the increase in the number of outgoing containers, the shipping space is now bursting, the trailers are tight, the container dumping is serious, and the ocean freight is continuously increasing. It is understood that many of Amazon's goods are now backlogged in Los Angeles warehouses, and the processing center is overloaded.

A person familiar with the matter said that due to the large number of cargo sent to Los Angeles by sea, the port and terminals were congested and the demand for truck drivers was in short supply. Due to the large amount of goods and the few drivers, the current supply and demand relationship of Los Angeles trucks in the United States is extremely unbalanced. The freight rate of long-distance trucks in August has soared to the highest in history.

To make matters worse, the American Trucking Association (ATA)'s Intermodal Automobile Carriers Chamber (IMCC) filed a lawsuit against foreign shipping companies for "illegal actions".

Sullivan said: "This situation must end. After several attempts to reach a mutually beneficial solution, we are now asking FMC to solve this problem. Otherwise, the truck drivers will plan a strike."

Nigeria loses $55 million a day due to port congestion

According to the latest report by the Dutch consulting company Dynanmar, the general congestion in Nigeria’s ports causes the country to lose approximately US$55 million (approximately 20.8 billion Naira) per day.

Dynanmar stated that there are multiple solutions to the ongoing congestion in Nigeria ports, which must include cooperation factors.

Dynanmar expressed concern about the ongoing congestion in Nigeria’s ports, but stakeholders are busy blaming others instead of developing solutions.

Darron Wadey, a senior shipping analyst and consultant at Dynanmar, said: "This is a complex problem. There is no single cause, and therefore no single solution. Therefore, the solution needs to work together to solve all the problems raised."

According to the report, the service has been transferred from the Tin Can terminal (Tin Can) and Port of Apapa in Lagos to the port of Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo, 1,500 kilometers south of Lagos, and then back to Nigeria. Even shipping companies such as CMA CGM and Maersk Line that have ships docked at the port of Lagos have also changed the route of their cargo because the weekly shipping delays have been close to 30 days.

The rerouted services include the joint service of CMA CGM and Maersk Line, the joint service of FEW2 and Midas/Mesawa from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent. Both services have moved to Pointe-Noire.

Manila port congestion: more than 40 ships per day

Recently, Roger Storey, general manager of CF Sharp Crew Management, a Philippine seafarer dispatch company, said in an interview with shipping media IHS Maritime Safety:

At present, there is serious traffic congestion in the Port of Manila. There are more than 40 ships sailing to Manila every day for seafarer changes. The average waiting time for ships exceeds one day, which has caused serious congestion in the port.

If the schedule is tight, calling at the Port of Manila will become infeasible for seafarers to change shifts, because even if the weather permits, the average stay of the ship may exceed two days. Therefore, shipowners and charterers must consider possible commercial impacts.

According to Philippine media reports, the Philippines is trying to position itself as a seafarer shift center. In addition to the aforementioned Manila, the country has added three more ports for seafarer shifts. Panila, Capinpin and Subic Bay ports have all been approved as crew shift locations. . In addition, other ports in the country, including Cebu, Davao and Padangas, may soon be approved for international crew changes.

The Philippines is demonstrating its importance to seafarers from the top level of the government. The country is seizing the opportunity of the difficulty of seafarers changing due to the epidemic to build itself into a global seafarer changing center, thereby further achieving the goal of exporting its own seafarers.

Congestion in Lagos port: 50 days for ships to wait

Dynamar releases regional reports throughout the year. The team’s latest West African analysis shows that traffic congestion, especially in Nigeria’s ports, is still continuing, but stakeholders are busy blaming others instead of developing solutions.

The service has been transferred from the port of Apapa in Lagos to a port 1,500 kilometers south of Lagos in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, and then transferred back to Nigeria. Even carriers such as CMA CGM and Maersk Line calling at the port of Lagos have transferred their cargo because the weekly service delay is close to 30 days.

Dynamar’s senior shipping analyst and consultant Vardy said: “It is reported that the waiting time for ships in the port of Lagos has reached fifty (50) days. It is said that about 1,000 container trucks’ export cargo are trapped on the port’s road. side."

The Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) accused the APM terminal, which operates the Apapa terminal in Lagos, of lacking container handling equipment, which caused the port to backlog cargo.

Earlier, the "Guardian" interviewed relevant workers at the Nigerian terminal and learned: In Nigeria, the terminal fee is about US$457 and the freight is US$374, while the local freight from the port to the warehouse is about US$2050. An intelligence report from SBM also showed that compared with Ghana and South Africa, goods shipped from the EU to Nigeria are more expensive.

Algeria: Port congestion surcharge changes

In early August, Bejaia port workers went on a 19-day strike, and the strike has ended on August 20. However, the current ship berthing sequence at this port suffers from severe congestion between 7 and 10 days, and has the following effects:

1. Delay in the delivery time of ships arriving at the port;

2. The frequency of empty equipment reinstallation/replacement is affected;

3. Increase in operating costs;

Therefore, the port stipulates that ships destined for Béjaïa from all over the world need to submit a congestion surcharge, and the standard for each container is 100 USD/85 Euro. The application date starts on August 24, 2020.