Newsletter 24/2024: Actual situation in international transport

In previous newsletters, we have reported on the situation of maritime imports from the Far East and tried to get a closer look at the reasons for the lack of space on ships and, as a consequence, the rising maritime prices. As is usually the case, problems arising at one point in the shipping chain pack up mercilessly and appear in multiples at any bottleneck in the shipping network. And so now we see congestion in ports like Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas or Colombo. These are important hub ports that transfer containers from feeder ships (serving other ports in the region) to large ships sailing on the main route to Europe. To avoid accelerating congestion at these key ports, shippers are skipping shipping from these regional ports (mainly in Bangladesh and India). Capacity has therefore been significantly reduced and, even in the case of successful shipping, delays at transhipment ports must be anticipated and extended transit times must be prepared for. Unfortunately, air rates from these countries have also already reacted to the unfavourable situation.  However, we advise you to transport critical quantities by air and to postpone shipment where your situation allows.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, Europe is not lagging behind with congestion and ships are starting to get slightly late even in Hamburg. Forecasting future developments is always important for planning the delivery of goods. Our view is that the situation will not improve in the near term. The following factors, among others, will have to be taken into account: German dockworkers continue their strike period. The last one ran from the morning of 9 July in Hamburg, then the port of Bremerhaven joined in and should be over by the time of publication. Wilhemshaven has also recently staged a strike. These, often several days long, outages are already taking their toll on port capacity and with each successive strike the problem is getting worse.

 

ONE-MONTH CLOSURE ON THE LINE FROM THE PORT OF HAMBURG 15.7.- 12.8.2024

AND SOME GOOD NEWS?