Stay ahead of supply chain disruptions and port congestion with Kuehne+Nagel's weekly port operational update.
Global Outage
The global technical outage on July 19 grounded not only flights but also impacted banks, supermarkets, news outlets, stock exchanges worldwide, and port operations worldwide. The outage occurred because cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike suffered a significant outage after a global system update. Although shipping largely escaped significant disruptions, several ports were affected by the failed update. The system outage caused APM Terminals Pier400 Los Angeles to close the remainder of the second shift on July 18. After implementing a system fix, it was back online at 02:00 local time. Several European terminals, including those in Aarhus, Rotterdam, Gothenburg, Gdansk, Felixstowe, Liverpool, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, and Wilhelmshaven, also reported systems issues that day. Read more.
Middle East Africa
Ghana
Tema: Vessel waiting time has decreased to around 3.75 days this week, but high swells continue. Some carriers advise the waiting time can be up to 10 days. As a result of these delays, the port cannot honour fixed berthing windows.
Djibouti
Djibouti: The reefer capacity has reached 100%, so SGTD (Société de Gestion du Terminal à conteneurs de Doraleh) restricts inbound reefers until the existing stock has cleared.
Saudi Arabia
Dammam: Vessel waiting time has improved even further to around 2 days this week due to increased resources and the deployment of mobile cranes.
South Africa
Durban: The vessel waiting time has improved to around 4.3 days this week. For Pier 1, a waiting time of up to 10 days is reported; for Pier 2, it is reported to be up to 30 days. The forecasted wind for July 25 was expected to cause additional delays and disruptions. At the time of publishing, 4 vessels were waiting for berth.
Cape Town: The waiting time is currently around 2.5 days. The forecasted wind for July 24 might cause delays and disruptions.
Port Elizabeth: The vessel waiting time remains around 3 days. The forecasted wind for July 24 and 25 might cause delays and disruptions.
Tanzania
Dar es Salaam: The 7-day vessel waiting time is around 5 days due to vessel bunching and system deployment issues at the port. Frequent power outages and gantry crane breakdowns also cause challenges.
UAE
Jebel Ali: The mainliners come in directly one after the other, so feeders have no room to load cargo. This causes yard congestion to be above 100%, and the situation is forecast to continue for at least two weeks.
Asia Pacific
Bangladesh
Chittagong: A nationwide curfew is in effect in response to the ongoing protests. The government shut down internet and telephone connections on the weekends and at the beginning of the week. The ban is being lifted gradually, but the curfew remains in place. Port activities resumed, but manually without a digital platform due to lack of internet connectivity. The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2.3 days, and the port is already heavily congested. Moreover, carriers are facing severe space/equipment shortages in Bangladesh.
China
Shanghai: The waiting time is at around 2 days. All terminals are facing severe berth congestion due to bunching vessels. The situation is expected to worsen since multiple mega vessels arrive from July 18 onwards.
Taiwan
Typhoon Gaemi was expected to land over northern Taiwan's coast on July 24 at noon local time. For the next 72 hours, severe rainfall, strong winds, and storm surges were forecast across the area. All services at the ports of Taipei, Keelung, Taichung, and Kaohsiung are currently suspended.
Singapore
Singapore: Although the overall situation stabilised, congestion and high yard utilisation continue. Vessels arriving out of the window might have to wait up to 3 days.
India
Ennore, Tuticorin and Cochin Terminals are heavily congested. In South East India, specifically in Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin, Kolkata, and Vizag, space/equipment remains challenging for most carriers. In these ports, some vessels can wait up to 4 days. As a result feeder vessels start to omit the port, causing a further backlog.
Mundra: The port is currently affected by severe rain, impacting yard operations due to waterlogging. The terminal has been facing severe congestion for over a month, causing the inventory to run above 50% consistently. The inventory level has now reached 80%. This congestion is impacting terminal operations and the transport of containers between CFS and terminals. Vessels arriving out of the window are delayed by 48 to 96 hours. Because the inventory level for terminals remains above the permitted levels, truck delivery of containers is possible only 3-4 days before the vessel's berthing. Move count restrictions are currently in place, and pre-gate requests are restricted. Additionally, the port faces equipment shortages for 20ft and 40ft HC.
Nhava Sheva: The port has been experiencing consistent rains due to the monsoon season, impacting CFS and empty yard operations due to waterlogging. The waiting time for the pick up of empty container equipment is more than 2-3 days, and due to poor road conditions, the truck drivers' queue is 2-3 km in most shipyards. The terminal does not permit early gate-in moves to avoid further congestion in the port. An accident at the port on July 14 caused damage to part of the port infrastructure and additional delays. At the moment, several terminals are undergoing routine maintenance, causing a delay in container handling. The port is facing equipment shortages for 20ft & 40ft HC.
Sri Lanka
Colombo: The critical transshipment hub for South India and Bangladesh is currently highly congested, with a yard density of over 120%. Adverse weather and inter-terminal delays are causing additional backlogs in the already existing stock. As a result, carriers have limited the acceptance of new cargo especially for South and East India.
New Zealand
Auckland: Dense fog caused several full stops in week 29. The average 7-day vessel waiting time is around 1.75 days.
Europe
Germany
Hamburg: The recent strikes have resulted in large port and customs clearance backlogs, delaying intermodal movements. Truck transport is facing delays of at least 30 hours at CTA and approximately 48 hours at CTB. Truckers are currently unable to guarantee on-time delivery and container collection. In addition, the limited booking slots for pickup/dropoffs at the terminals contribute to the critical situation and ongoing operational challenges. The summer holiday season results in limited workforce availability.
Greece
Thessaloniki: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 2 days. The ongoing heatwave has led to frequent full stops. The terminal implemented daily berthing windows on 14 July.
Italy
La Spezia: Rail services to and from La Spezia were interrupted on July 17 due to damage to the railway. Although the La Spezia railway restarted operations on July 22, delays and disruptions are still likely.
After the rail accident in Parma on July 15, which damaged the railway infrastructure and resulted in its closure, the Italian authorities permitted it to reopen on July 23. Read more.
Netherlands
Rotterdam: Terminals are congested due to vessels arriving off schedule, resulting in arrival/departure delays of 5-10 days. This has also resulted in changes in gate-in dates at short notice and increased dwell times of containers at inland depots. The port reported a severe impact from the global outage on July 19. No movement was possible for 3 of 4 terminals until late afternoon, leading to long queues. Although APT Terminals advised that the recent yard density at APM Terminals MVII is higher than average, the terminal is accepting empty MSC containers and empty Maersk containers delivered by barge and rail again. The situation remains volatile; changes to that rule can be made at any time.
Spain
Barcelona: The vessel waiting time has decreased significantly this week. Nevertheless, port congestion remains a challenge.
Valencia: High yard density, labour shortage, and general congestion continue.
Romania:
Constanta: The 7-day average vessel waiting time is around 4.25 days. The port is facing delays and disruptions due to ongoing crane and quay repairs. The repair work will last until the end of 2024.
North America
Canada
A wildfire caused by a lightning strike in British Colombia is currently being brought under control. Rail tracks are currently impassable since the fire departments and water bombers are in action. As a result, rail traffic from and to Vancouver and Prince Rupert is currently delayed.
Average rail dwell times in Canada:
- Halifax - 3 days
- Montreal - 6 days
- Prince Rupert - 5 days
- Vancouver - 8 days
South and Central America
Brazil
Navegantes: The average 7-day waiting time is around 2 days, although some carriers report higher waiting times. In week 29, a receding current interrupted all in/out maneuvers.
Rio De Janeiro: Several channels were closed on July 19 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to implement and install the underwater pipeline at the port.
Costa Rica
Puerto Caldera: The yard utilisation is around 90%, which results in import containers being outsourced to private shipyards. An exemption is fully refrigerated containers and dangerous goods,
Moin: Almost 80-90% of the export containers are scanned by the drug control police and will be put on hold in case of any doubts.
Mexico
Lazaro Cardenas: Low productivity and high yard utilisation are causing vessel delays. Difficulties with confirming container entry and exit appointments persist at the port, with waiting times of up to 48 hours due to operational challenges.
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