Week 22 Freight Updates

As a follow-up to our special update from last week, there has been a significant drop in vessels at anchor in Yantian due to the terminal’s temporary closure. After a recent COVID-19 outbreak, the Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) began accepting export cargo again, but shipping executives say the congestion will take at least a week to clear.

Here’s the situation at Yantian and some key U.S. ports at latest report:

Yantian: 48 vessels at anchor
LA/LB: 13 vessels at anchor, 2 vessels due to arrive
Oakland: 16 vessels at drift, 12 vessels at anchor
Savannah: 7 vessels at anchor
Charleston: 3 vessels at anchor

As we noted above, YICT is up against some intense container traffic following reports of positive coronavirus cases. Despite lifting its export container suspension, the terminal is still requiring container gate-in times to fall within a minimum of three days of a vessel’s estimated time of arrival from May 31 to June 6, based on information released by The Loadstar. And the U.S. isn’t doing much better either.

Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner, Vespucci Maritime, and JOC Analyst had some strong words regarding the state of ocean shipping. From the JOC.com article linked below…. “High spot rates and low schedule reliability are clear and acute problems, but after more than six months, they can no longer be described as “new.”

According to ocean shipping giant Maersk, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach “remain strained with vessel wait times averaging between one to two weeks,” and that “the situation is even more dire at the Port of Oakland, where wait times now extend up to three weeks.” The gateways are currently working with terminal operators and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) to reduce the increasing congestion and improve the flow of Asian imports.

In other news, many ports need to consider how prepared they really are for major supply chain disruptions stemming from climate change issues and rising sea levels. Also, check out SupplyChainBrain Editor-in-Chief Bob Bowman’s in-depth interview with Joe Klobus, claims and insurance manager with global freight forwarder OEC Group, that breaks down the Suez Canal blockage and how it relates to declaring general average.

To learn more about this week’s leading industry issues, click the following links:

Container line schedules take another hit as port congestion in China spreads

Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) has extended its export suspension until Monday, as port congestion worsens throughout China.

No easy recovery ahead for container shipping

The operational challenges within container shipping have now persisted for half a year, and they are seemingly nowhere nearer to getting resolved. If anything, they mainly appear to be getting worse.

California’s massive container-ship traffic jam is still really jammed

Peak shipping season is coming soon — and the “parking lot” of container ships stuck at anchor off the coast of California is still there, with Oakland surpassing Los Angeles/Long Beach as the epicenter of congestion.

Oakland, Seattle-Tacoma act on mounting vessel congestion (sub. required)

A labor shortage in Oakland and a lack of railcars in Seattle-Tacoma are causing growing vessel congestion in those ports as they struggle to handle cargo volumes that are up more than 30 percent from a year ago.

As storms become more frequent and volatile, some ports plan for the risk — but most do not

The interconnectedness of ports leave assets such as warehouses, trucking networks and railroads vulnerable to disruptions from climate change and rising sea levels.

How Shippers Will Have to Pay for the Suez Canal Blockage

The grounding of the Evergreen Line containership Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March created a massive legal and insurance dispute that could take months, if not years, to resolve.

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