With the continued tight supply of market capacity and the recurrence of epidemics. Amid concerns about growing port congestion in Asia, delays at U.S. West Coast ports have resurfaced.
Congestion at ports in the West Coast worsens and will be hit hard in August!
The port warned: “It is expected that U.S. West Coast ports will suffer a ‘heavy hit’ throughout August, on-time rates may further decline, and port operations are reaching a ‘stalemate’.”
It is reported that the marine terminals of the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach were suspended for 10 hours last week for some reason. For these two major ports, this is undoubtedly adding insult to injury. It also brought the number of container ships anchored in San Pedro Bay near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach back to 30.
Maersk said the situation in Southern California has “deteriorated” and the number of ships at anchorage has doubled in the past few weeks. It warned customers there would be significant delays.
Additionally, the carrier said trucking was delayed by two weeks on the East Coast and Southeast, container detention times increased and further difficulties were experienced with chassis supply.
Railway congestion has further exacerbated delays in the delivery of imported goods from the United States and the return of empty containers to Asia.
According to the company, the average detention time of containers in the United States has increased by 35%, which means that overall capacity has decreased by 35%.
There is a shortage of trailer drivers, dock workers, and chassis frames!
If port congestion is still a pain point that is easier for everyone to see, then there is another more fatal impact that may be ignored by most people, and that is tow truck drivers And a shortage of dockworkers!
The shortage of truck drivers has become the most common serious challenge in the European and American transportation markets in recent months.
Data from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the largest truck industry representative organization in the United States, show that the year before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the industry was already short of nearly 61,000 trucks. A driver. The association estimates that the driver shortage will reach 160,000 by 2028.
With the outbreak of the new crown epidemic last year, the situation has undoubtedly become increasingly stretched. The pace of truck driver recruitment has lagged far behind the pace of the market.
Some American logistics companies recently lamented: The current pace is that a truck driver can only lift one container a day, and there are endless queues at the port. The reason is that there is a shortage of dock workers, there are not enough manpower to work, and there are no frames!
Maersk said: “To add insult to injury, there is now a rolling stock shortage and limited rail yard capacity, which has led to an overall reduction in the number of services from the West Coast. Overall, in the Pacific Southwest , Chassis availability has once again become the primary issue.”
U.S. imports will hit a record in August! Maersk urges customers to return boxes as soon as possible
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), August appears to be the cruelest month for U.S. cargo owners across the Pacific.
With supply chains already overloaded, the number of containers entering North America is expected to set a new record for shipping demand during the holiday season. Meanwhile, Maersk also warned that the supply chain will come under greater pressure this month, urging customers to return containers and chassis as soon as possible.
NRF’s global port tracker forecast on Friday that U.S. imports in August would reach 2.37 million TEU. This will exceed May’s total of 2.33 million TEUs.
The NRF said this was the highest monthly total since it began tracking imported containers in 2002. If true, the August figure would be 12.6% higher than the same period last year.
Maersk said in a customer advisory last week that it “requires critical assistance from customers” due to growing congestion. The world’s largest container carrier said customers were holding onto containers and chassis for much longer than usual, causing import shortages and increasing delays at ports of origin and destination.
“The mobility of cargo at the terminal is a challenge. The longer the cargo stays at the terminal, warehouse or railway terminal, the more difficult the situation will be.” Maersk said, ” The hope is that customers will return chassis and containers as soon as possible, which will give us and other suppliers the opportunity to ship equipment back to high-demand ports of origin more quickly.”
The carrier Marine terminals in Los Angeles, New Jersey, Savannah, Charleston, Houston and rail ramps in Chicago will extend their hours and open on Saturdays to speed up the movement of goods, people said.
Maersk added that the current situation does not appear to be ending soon.
They said”We do not expect congestion to ease in the short term… Instead, industry-wide increases in freight volumes are expected to continue into early 2022 and beyond.”</p
