Suspension of sailings, port skipping, and tight shipping space! Port congestion in Europe and the United States continues

In recent years, the rapid development of the cross-border e-commerce industry has driven the development of the logistics industry. Among them, Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, has achieved a record high annual profit.

Many ports are still congested, and voyage suspension and port skipping are coming.

Maersk said that it will spend 80 million US dollars to distribute bonuses to 80,000 employees around the world in December this year or January next year, with each person receiving a standard bonus of about 1,000 US dollars. How much profit will Maersk make this time?

According to analysts' forecasts, Maersk's net profit this year will reach around US$16.2 billion, more than five times the average valuation at the beginning of the year.

Ocean freight rates have been rising again and again, delays and congestion have become the norm, and shipping companies have indeed collected a lot of fees and made a lot of money this year.

Many industry insiders believe that it is not only shipping companies that are making money this year, freight forwarders have also made some money, and there is even a saying in the cross-border circle this year that "freight forwarders can earn a house by doing nothing". In response, some freight forwarders said that they did make more money compared to the same period last year, and if the commission had not doubled, they would have been left behind.

Overall, the logistics industry is indeed popular this year. At present, freight rates continue to rise and port congestion continues. Cross-border sellers with shipping plans should still make multiple comparisons when choosing a shipping channel to try to avoid delays.

Alphaliner's survey data shows that due to severe port congestion, in the past five months, about a quarter of the scheduled ports on the Asia -North Europe loop of the three major alliances have canceled calls, with a total of 383 canceled voyages, causing chaos in the shippers' supply chain.

Alphaliner said that the reason for port jumping was related to three reasons: canceling the next port call to prevent further delays; temporarily canceling calls for several weeks; and canceling /postponing voyages to catch up with the shipping schedule.

However, a recent public opinion survey shows that in order to alleviate the problem of supply chain disruption, most people agree to stop at scheduled ports as much as possible. In the past five months, the three major ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg have reduced their calls by 25%, and the Port of London has reduced its calls by 27%.

But in fact, recently, the load factor of the Shanghai-European and American routes is still close to full, and the freight rate is showing a continuous upward trend. It is not difficult to see from the rising freight rates that the current demand for container transportation is still high. It is reported that due to the failure of major shipping companies to return to the US-Canada routes in time, the space is even more scarce, resulting in a sharp rise in freight rates. The US West Coast is still above 10,000 this week. In addition, the space on the Canadian route is also in short supply, and the freight rate has risen.

At present, many ports in many countries, including Vancouver, are still congested. As of the end of November, there were 51 ships waiting to unload at the Port of Vancouver. Many ports have frequently stopped sailing and skipped ports. Sellers who have shipping plans in the near future should always pay attention to freight rates and logistics conditions and take risk prevention measures in advance.

Export containers reach 12 million, US imports surge

As of October this year , the United States exported about 12.1 million containers, and more than 59% of the containers exported from the nine largest ports in the United States were empty.

According to MarketWatch data, the number of empty containers exported from U.S. ports has increased by more than 46% over the previous year and 38% over the pre-pandemic period. At the same time, U.S. imports have also surged due to increased demand from U.S. consumers.

Some industry insiders said that the difference between imports and exports could increase the amount of foreign goods imported into the country while reducing the amount imported into the United States, which could easily lead to a trade imbalance.

The best example is that the U.S. trade deficit hit a record high in September, when it exceeded $81 billion, but in October, it fell to $67.1 billion due to increased exports such as oil and food.

" Affected by demand, consumers are importing large quantities of goods, but the port congestion problem has not been resolved and is also affecting exports ," said an industry insider. It is affecting the trade balance and has also caused a certain degree of impact on American manufacturing.

Relevant data shows that in the past year, the cost of shipping a container (40 feet) from Amazon to the United States has soared to more than $20,000 . Some shipping companies also said that the cost of shipping containers from Shanghai to Los Angeles is 7 times that of other methods .

At the same time, the largest container port in the United States has been flooded with empty containers. Foreign media reported that empty containers at the Southern California port can be seen from 80 miles away, blocking local communities, warehouses and docks. In addition, the congestion of container ships waiting to enter the port should not be underestimated.

Record-breaking: 96 container ships waiting to dock at Southern California ports

With more than two weeks left until Christmas, many Americans' Christmas presents may still be drifting at sea.

According to data on December 3, at the Port of Southern California, 40 container ships were waiting for berths within 40 miles of the port. At first glance, it seemed that the earlier congestion had been alleviated, but the reality was not the case. There were still 56 container ships waiting farther out at sea . Statistically, the number of waiting container ships has reached a record high of 96.

In addition, according to current data, there are still 31 container ships docked at the Southern California terminal waiting for berths. Together with the previous container ships, the number of container ships waiting to unload has reached nearly 127.

Not only that, the waiting time for ships has also been extended. As of last Friday, the average waiting time for ships at the Port of Los Angeles has reached 20.8 days. Compared with the data in November, the waiting time for ships has been extended by nearly a week.

Judging from the current situation, the measures that the Biden administration of the United States had earlier introduced to regulate maritime transport, such as charging container demurrage fees, are facing setbacks and have not been effective, and the congestion of container ships has not been alleviated.

"Although the current shipping market situation is still stable, it may not be very good in the next 12 to 18 months," said an industry insider. Especially as the load factor of European and American routes is close to full load level, freight rates have been high and even show signs of rising.

Relevant data shows that the latest comprehensive world container index has risen by 2.3% to $9,262.02 per 40-foot container, and is 170% higher than a year ago. Under the influence of multiple factors such as rising logistics costs and extended ship port entry times, sellers' shipping speed and costs are likely to be affected. Sellers with shipping needs need to arrange shipments in advance to avoid affecting delivery time.

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