A new IHS Markit report titled Port Performance Data has revealed just how swamped the world’s most popular gateways have become over the course of the pandemic. According to The Loadstar, “vessel exchanges–containers handled–at major U.S., North European, and Asian ports jumped between 10% and 70% in the first half of the year on the same period of 2020.”
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are particularly overloaded and will likely remain that way until they can get the critical assets they need to offset the growing backlog of vessels—with a reported 49 container ships currently at anchor. Over in Shanghai, ports have more than just congestion to deal with as officials adjust operations to prepare for the coming Typhoon Chanthu.
And the toll all this chaos is taking on today’s shipping rates is astronomical, driving the cost of chartering a container ship up to $195,000-$202,000 a day for some. In other news, the FMC has finally named the 24 exporters and importers it selected for its Shipper Advisory Committee to help “advise the agency on the competitiveness, reliability, integrity, and fairness of the international ocean freight delivery system.”
To learn more about this week’s top international shipping industry news, check out the following article highlights:
