Supply chains continue to be challenged by the impacts of the COVID pandemic, which is why we have continued to focus on the provision of air, sea/air and sea freight services from Asia and the US for your time-sensitive and urgent shipments.
LCL operations hindered by poor port performance
The port and terminal disruption that began in Felixstowe last Summers, before spreading to Southampton and London Gateway has not disappeared, with congestion continuing to disrupt collections, empty returns and LCL unloading.
Asia market update
The Coronavirus outbreak and subsequent COVID pandemic massively impacted supply chains, rates, vessel space and equipment availability last year and is showing little sign of ending any time soon in 2021, with Chinese New Year and the traditional blanked sailings in the mix too.
Shipping lines stop Asia – UK bookings
The shortage of containers in Asia, limiting their ability to load exports, and the continuation of port congestion across the UK and 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.
Congestion problems at Southampton worsen
Bad weather, which began last week, has forced the intermittent suspension of operations at Southampton, exacerbating ongoing issues at the port with high import volumes, mounting stacks of empty containers and a shortage of haulage.
Asia equipment shortages; cause and effect
As the peak season from Asia looks set to continue up to Chinese New Year with more price rises and blanked sailings on the way, our MD in the region considers four critical developments in 2020 and how they impacted rates, volumes and equipment availability.
Sea freight from Asia and China facing even more challenges
Despite the peak season continuing and the shipping lines on the way to a colossal $11 billion profit for 2020, further price rises and blanked sailings are on the way.
Container shortages from China
Equipment shortages are spreading to China, as the lines struggle to reposition sufficient empty containers, with some lines diverting equipment to higher-yielding trans-pacific trade lanes.
CMA CGM announce Felixstowe surcharge
Despite the Port of Felixstowe apologising to customers for the “inconvenience” of the current congestion, we have yet to see any improvement and CMA CGM has become the first line to introduce a Port Congestion Surcharge – in the amount of USD150/TEU effective 1st October 2020 – for all containers arriving/departing Felixstowe.
Disruption at Felixstowe
Import volumes at Felixstowe have been 30% higher than usual in recent weeks, leading to severe congestion at the port, which has impacted road and rail transport and with port efficiency further diminished by the COVID crisis vehicle booking slots are not currently being issued, the restitution of empty containers has been interrupted and some vessels are omitting or diverting from the port.
