Global container port congestion has approached approximately 9 million TEU, nearing the peak of 9.6 million TEU experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Red Sea crisis has compelled container vessels to navigate via the Cape of Good Hope, increasing TEU-mile demand by about 12%. According to Clarksons analyst Trevor Crowe, "It has been a better than expected year so far for trade volumes - this has helped drive markets to exceptional levels once again." The congestion surge is attributed to the combined effects of port infrastructure and logistics challenges due to vessel re-routing and a robust growth in global trade volumes, which have expanded by 8% year-on-year from January to April.
Anticipation of constrained shipping and equipment availability during the third quarter peak season led shippers to advance their export activities to May and June, thereby precipitating an early onset of the peak season. This, alongside liner company service rescheduling, has resulted in equipment displacement bottlenecks. Clarksons' data indicates an increase in the percentage of box ships idling in-port from 27.5% in late February to 31% by late June. Despite this being below the Covid-era peak of 37%, the dynamics of liner service patterns have evolved, with re-routing over longer distances affecting the standard share of time/capacity spent in port, despite a 19% increase in total container ship fleet capacity since the beginning of 2022.
Source: container-news.com