DACHSER expands its Willebroek branch

• Strikes at Germany and South Korea

In the German ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven, the four-hour warning strike did  not lead to major vessel delays, however the suspension of handling operations at the terminals led to massive backlogs and later on the roads. This is expected to take a while to be resolved. In Asia, the eight-day strike in South Korea has come to an end and road transportation is returning to normal, but the it will take more time to clear the backlog.
 

• Easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China

Lockdown relief in Shanghai will lead to an increase in export container volumes into Europe and on Transpacific Eastbound, which might cause space issues, empty equipment challenges and rising rate levels. On the Transpacific trade, rates are stable and  space is  adequate. Carriers expect a new rush of cargo to the US once the factories in China return  back to normal.

Trade Lane Update

EUROPE

Port congestion in Northern Europe continues to worsen. Very high slot densities at Northern European container terminals and bottlenecks in inland transport are aggravating port congestion problems in the trade between the Far East and Northern Europe.

Container ships operating on this route currently take an average of 101 days to complete a full round voyage. This means that on average they arrive 20 days too late in China to start  their next round trip, forcing carriers to blank sailings because no ship  is available.
 
Port Congestion EMEA

• Belgium                     Antwerp 2 days
• France                        Le Havre 1 day
• Germany                   Bremerhaven 3 days
•                                     Hamburg 6 days                                
•                                     Wilhelmshaven 0 days
• Italy                            Trieste 3 days
• Netherlands             Rotterdam 2-3 days
• Slovenia                    Koper 1 day
• Spain                         Algeciras 1 day
•                                    Valencia 1 day

Europe - Far East
Space is currently available but empty equipment is likely to be running short in the upcoming weeks.

Europe - South America East & West Coast
Space is overall tight but to South America East Coast it is slightly better than to South America West Coast. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is tight, especially the lack of containers in Inland Depots. Vessels often face large delays due to congested terminals. Carriers continue with schedule recovery measures, such as port omissions and blank sailings. The situation in Northern Europe Ports, including Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Antwerp are getting worse, due to strikes . It is recommended to place bookings well in advance, ideally 4 to 6 weeks before sailing.

Europe – Mexico
Space is very tight. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is tight, especially the lack of containers in Inland Depots. It is recommended to place bookings at least 5 to 6 weeks before sailing. Rates remain at a very high level and no rate reductions are expected in Q3. Vessels are frequently heavily delayed on all services. Especially if vessels have their first port call in the US. Carriers are looking into options to improve schedule reliability, but there are no service changes announced yet.

Europe – Indian Subcontinent
Space is available. Congestion and vessel delays are overall still ongoing in Northern and Southern Europe. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is improving while it is still tight in Southern Europe . Congestion in Sri Lanka is still not improving due to the political situation. 

ASIA

Port Congestion Asia

• China Mainland             Ningbo: 7-10 days
•                                         Dalian / Shanghai: 7-10 days
•                                          Qingdao / Xingang: 7-10 days
•                                          Nanjing / Xiamen: no congestion
•                                          Yantian/ Shekou / Nansha: 7-10 days
•                                          Hong Kong 7-10 days
• India Subcontinent       Chittagong: 3-6 days.
•                                          Colombo: Delays for containers going into Cochin.
•                                          All other ports: no congestion
• Indonesia                       Jakarta / Surabaya / Semarang: 2-3 days
• Korea                              Busan / Incheon: 5-7 days
• Malaysia                         Port Klang / Pasir Gudang / Tanjung Pelepas / Penang: 5-7 days      
• Singapore                       No congestions for FCL containers, 
•                                          some delays for LCL shipments depending on the carrier.
• Taiwan                            Keelung / Kaohsiung / Taichung: 3-7 days
• Thailand                         Bangkok: 7-10 days
•                                          Laem Chabang: 2-3 days
• Vietnam                          Haiphong Export / Import: 4-5 days
•                                          Saigon Export / Import: 7-10 days

Far East - Europe
Space is generally available, depending on the carrier and loop. The empty equipment situation in Asia is still tight.

Far East – Mexico
The market is heating up, and space to Mexico is becoming an issue. Rates have increased, and for July further upward rate adjustments are expected.

Far East - South America East Coast
The empty equipment situation in Asia is very tight, especially in the North,  affecting large ports like Tianjin and Qingdao. As the situation in Shanghai gradually resumes to normal, space is becoming very tight. It is recommended to place bookings well in advance, ideally 3 to 4 weeks before sailing. Since June 01, 2022, rates have been increasing on a weekly basis.

Indian Subcontinent – Europe
Space is available and the empty equipment situation is further improving. Please consider congestion and delays when transporting shipments via Colombo.

• DACHSER LCL service India - Spain

DACHSER is launching its own Less-than-Container-Load (LCL) consol service from Nhava Sheva to Valencia. The LCL service offers frequent departures and reliable transit time. Please contact your DACHSER representative if you are interested.

Transpacific Eastbound
Due to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China, space and equipment decreased . The situation is predicted to tighten again in July and August due to potentially high volumes. Supply and demand are currently under control, but this could change in the next month  due  to the predicted pick up of containers towards the US.
 
In South Korea, the Truckers’ Union went on a strike at the ports for eight days. Currently, the situation is that the Union will not strike but it is unknown if the situation will change in the next few weeks. Negotiations between the Union and the government are still ongoing, but signs are showing that both parties will come to an agreement. 

US Port congestion is ongoing but decreasing due to the decreased volumes from Asia.

• DACHSER expedited LCL Service

DACHSER offers an expedited LCL service from China to the U.S. West Coast, which is a reliable alternative for customers to avoid congestion issues. The weekly scheduled direct expedited LCL service reduces transit times by 3-7 days. Please do not hesitate to contact your local DACHSER sales team to get further information about the LCL service.

AMERICA

Port Congestion in North America
West coast

• Los Angeles                   9 days waiting time to berth
• Oakland                         8 days waiting time to berth
• Tacoma                          waiting time insignificant
• Seattle                            Situation fluid

 
East Coast

• Boston                            Situation fluid
• New York                       5 days waiting time to berth
• Baltimore                       Situation fluid
• Norfolk                           2 days waiting time to berth
• Charleston                     Situation fluid
• Savannah                       5 days waiting time to berth
• Jacksonville                    Situation fluid
• Miami                             Situation fluid
• Mobile                            Situation fluid
• Houston                         5 days waiting time to berth

Transatlantic
Currently, there is space available depending on the destination coast. But this is expected to tighten once cargo flows in Asia are picking up again. It is recommended to place bookings 2 to 3 weeks in advance. New York remains to be congested and delays at the NYC Ports are up to 10 days. Montreal is facing heavy delays as well and all transfer loads (to inland points) are affected combined with truck and rail shortages.

In general, most destination ports are volatile. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is still challenging across the region. The lack of 40-footers is a main issue.

• Container Indexes

Click the button below to read the current development on the World Container Index and Shanghai Containerized Freight Index.

If you would like to discuss your transport needs, please get in touch with your local DACHSER representative to work out the best logistics solution.

Trade Lane Update

• EUROPE

European ports are still suffering from delays, with the result that most vessels are not being cleared on time. This is caused by the exceptional weather conditions of the past weeks as well as ship delays from ports worldwide. 

In the meantime, almost all terminals have introduced emergency plans with different measures. Containers, for example, may only be delivered or picked up with a severely restricted deadline. This mainly affects the Port of Hamburg, but Antwerp and Rotterdam are now also reporting significant delays. 

There is a massive shortage of equipment, especially in the inland, but also at the ports. Shortage of 20’ equipment is to be expected within the next weeks as per carrier forecasts.

Europe – Far East

While space is moderately available the equipment situation in Europe is still critical although the first improvements are visible. Carriers have already implemented an Equipment Imbalance Surcharge until further notice. 

Europe – South America East & West Coast

Higher rate levels are to be expected due to increasing demand. Santos port congestion improved slightly. Equipment imbalance and tight capacity conditions are still in place.

• ASIA

Port situation in Mainland China

• Terminal operations at Shenzhen's Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) are back to normal and the handling backlogs at Yantian are resolving.
• The congestion at Shekou and Nansha is still at a high level. Overall, the situation is improving day by day as the number of infections in Guangzhou and Shenzhen is under control now. 
• Although the YICT terminal operation has improved significantly, the equipment shortage is still at a very high level due to too many vessel cancellations in June, and the stability of the schedule is also far below normal.

Far East – Europe
Loading capacity and empty equipment are still very limited without any forthcoming recovery for the next weeks to come. Schedule recoveries and port omissions in Asia will further decrease space and allocation.

Far East - South America East Coast
The congestion situation in Santos has improved slightly but tight space and equipment shortages are still a major trigger. Rates are increasing strongly due to high demand. 

ISC – Europe 
The empty equipment situation has improved slightly. Nevertheless, equipment is still an issue in East India regions. Space situation is extremely tight.

Transpacific Eastbound
The shortage of equipment throughout Asian ports and carriers is continuing. An improvement in the shift of equipment back to Asia is not expected in the near future. Capacity issue is not improving mainly due to congestion across all USWC ports. Service delays and schedule cancellations for ports are continuing and are unpredictable and difficult to manage.

• AMERICA

Record-breaking volumes coming into the country because of the economic recovery and funding programs, resulting in heavy delays due to a lack of rail cars and a shortfall of available chassis. Truckers are booked two to three weeks in advance. 

Record temperatures and the associated heatwave have had a major impact to the Pacific North West and Canadian Ports.

Transatlantic

• Equipment is in short supply and expected to remain this way for some time as it gets tied up at multiple inland gateways. 
• New services have been added, relieving some of the pressure on capacity. Advanced bookings remain essential. 
• Dwell times in the US are at high levels, terminal and port congestions causing further impacts. Multiple port omissions in the US continue to impact schedule integrity. Eastbound space is getting tighter.

Container Indexes

• Click the button below to read the current development on World Container Index and Shanghai Containerized Freight Index. 

• Stay close with your logistics partner such as DACHSER for up-to-date market information.
• Provide accurate forecasts to secure equipment and space in time - the more reliable the volume is, the higher is the chance to get on board.
• Place bookings well in advance, we recommend to book at least 4 weeks in advance.
• Inform your DACHSER contact about your priority shipments.
• Be flexible with equipment, consider substitutions.
• Reserve space on air freight services for shipments that cannot be delayed, the rates are slightly higher but it will keep your supply chain running.

If you would like to discuss your transport needs, please feel free to get in touch with your local DACHSER representative to work out the best logistics solution.