International Freight update
International Freight News – (9 Dec 2o20) – The shortage of containers in Asia, limiting their ability to load exports, and the continuation of port congestion across Northern Europe has had a profound impact on sea freight services, with a number of shipping lines suspending all freight bookings until, at the earliest, the last week in December.
The severe shortage of empty containers in Asian origin ports has been building since September when the spike in volume from China to the US caused container availability in Asia to drop 37% to a level that is almost 50% lower year over year.
The root cause of the current problems was the unexpected demand for containerized goods created in the wake of global social lockdowns, which have decimated the services and entertainment sectors and left consumers with little else to spend disposable income on.
In relation to air cargo, its biggest problem for air cargo is the lack of capacity as much of the passenger fleet remains grounded. There is expected to be a capacity crunch from the grounded aircraft will hit particularly hard in the closing months of 2020. And the situation will become even more critical as we search for capacity for the impending vaccine deliveries
Freight forwarders across the world are recommending that you provide them with as much notice as possible for any new container orders, however, they are always willing to try and support any last minute needs.
UK ports are struggling to cope with Brexit stockpiling and the Covid pandemic. This has led to high levels of import traffic, a large number of empty containers, and a large amount of unusually long-stay containers held at the port. Importers into the UK are facing massive delays and congestion at the ports.
About the Author
International Freight News – Aidan Conaty ACMA, GCMA, MBA, is the founder of TCI China and Goodada.com. Aidan has spent over 15 years assisting companies to trade internationally. TCI China provides trade support services for China. Goodada helps companies to sell globally. Trinity College Dublin awarded Aidan the Seamus McDermott MBA scholarship.
Aidan can be contacted email at aidan@goodada.com or at:
(Europe/ Rest of the World) +353 1 885 3919
(UK) +44.020.3287.2990
(North America) +1.518.290.6604