Kuehne+Nagel's Disruption Indicator tracks congestion at hot spot ports around the world. It combines data on the number of vessels waiting at a port, their capacity, and the number of waiting days into TEU waiting days.
Congestion at hot spot ports this week has slightly increased compared to last week. This could be due to Easter closures, particularly in northern Europe. The total TEU waiting time at hot spot ports on 12 April was 2,978,348 TEU days compared to 2,809,133 TEU days a week ago.
The TEU waiting days at North American hot spot ports declined by around 7% compared to last week, despite labour action in LA-Long Beach last week. The 7-day average vessel waiting time at LA-Long Beach is currently 1.36 days. According to K+N analytics, no vessels are currently waiting outside the San Pedro ports.
Waiting times at European ports are minimal, at around 2 days. This is a slight increase compared to last week of around 1.5 days
In Asia, the 7-day average waiting time in Shanghai-Ningbo and Hong-Kong -Yantian areas have improved and are now under 3 days.
Africa
South Africa
Transnet National Port Authority has relaunched its Integrated Port Management System (IPMS) at eight commercial ports. According to a press release, the system is a state-of-the-art vessel management software which automates traditionally managed operations. "The system provides near-real-time access to operational information, which results in ease of decision-making and improved port performance," said Transnet. The previous launch was suspended to improve security controls and minimise the risk of cyber-attacks.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa met with executives of key export sectors in South Africa, who rely on the country's port, rail and road infrastructure. According to reports, a crisis committee will be formed to deal with the logistics crunch in a coordinated fashion. The president acknowledged that the problems in the logistics sector are of "catastrophic proportions" and said urgent measures need to be taken to solve the logistics backlog that is hurting economic growth. The structure of the committee will be detailed this week.
The current 7-day average vessel time for Cape Town and Durban is 5.94 days and 4.06 days, respectively.
Nigeria
Onne: In March, the West Africa Container Terminal in Onne Port received 16 new terminal trucks to boost efficiency and cargo handling operations. APM Terminals announced that the investment would further improve an already quick vessel turnaround time at the terminal while also increasing the handling capacity of the terminal.
Asia
China
According to figures released by the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China, container throughput at 12 major Chinese ports grew by 1.3% year-on-year for the first two months of 2023. About 44.1 million TEU moved through these ports in January and February. Although volumes through Shanghai declined by 8.6% compared to last year's period, the port remained the country's top port, handling 7.46 million TEU. In contrast, volumes at the number two port, Ningbo-Zhoushan, grew by 9.1% year-on-year, totalling 5.31 million TEU. Qingdao remains in third place with a 12% increase in throughput. Dalian was amongst the ports with the highest growth in throughput of 14.8%. Shenzen, which includes the port of Yantian, reported the second most significant year-on-year decline in container volumes, after Shanghai, handling 3.92 million TEUs, an 8.5% drop compared to last year.
India
Mumbai: APM Terminals Mumbai (GTI) was again recognised as the "Top Performing Terminal" in India for January 2023 by NICDC Logistics Data Services ranking. APM Terminals Mumbai announced that even though the terminal handled the highest volumes of all terminals in India, it maintained some of the lowest dwell times for export and import containers. Between December 2022 and January 2023, dwell times dropped by over 7%. The port aims to reduce the time vessels spend at the docks by more than 20% compared to the previous year.
Philippines
The Philippines have exported their first shipment of durians to China. Last week two 28-ton loads were airfreighted, and 10 containers were shipped. Shipments had to pass stringent requirements set by the General Administration Customs of China (GACC) before being exported. China is one of the world's largest durian consumers, importing 821,500 tons in 2021.
Europe
France
A twelfth day of nationwide strikes has been announced for 13 April. Port workers will again join the protests on the day, closing terminals for 24 hours. In addition, work-stops have been planned for 8-14 April, when workers will stop for 4 hours at a time each day. The strike actions will impact container movements into and out of the terminal and vessel schedules.
Italy
Genoa: A new container rail service linking the PSA Genoa with Stuttgart, Germany, will begin on 4 May. The "Stuttgart Express" will run twice a week, departing from Genova Prà Terminal and arriving at the Kornwestheim hub in Stuttgart. Departure from Italy will be on Mondays and Thursdays at 5 am, while departures from Stuttgart are scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridays at 7 pm. Transit time is 23 hours.
United Kingdom
Liverpool and Southampton have closed intermittently over the last week due to bad weather.
North America
USA
LA-Long Beach: On Thursday, 6 April, the ports of LA-Long Beach were forced to shut down due to a labour shortage from the evening's second shift until the evening shift on Friday. The impact on vessel backlog was minimal. However, reports have noted significant losses for agricultural exports because of these closures. Kuehne+Nagel analytics show a 7-day average vessel waiting time is low at 1.36 days on 12 April.
Seattle/Tacoma: The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) has launched its 2023 Rail Cargo Incentive Program. From 1 May, NWSA will provide a $50 incentive per rail lift for eligible rail volumes moving through the gateway. The programme aims at increasing cargo volumes, specifically agricultural exports, at the NWSA gateway while reducing costs for importers and exporters. An additional 60,000 additional rail lifts are expected to result from the programme, an increase of around 15% of 2022 volumes. "Most intermodal inland ramp locations served and/or operated by the BNSF and Union Pacific Railroads will be eligible for the incentive program, including ramp locations in Minot, ND, Pocatello, ID, Millersburg OR, and Wallula, WA," said the NWSA in a press release.
Oceania
Australia
Melbourne: The Port of Melbourne celebrated the opening of the Intermodal Way, a two-way road with a single lane in each direction, connecting the Dock Link Road and Mullaly Close/Coode Road. Intermodal Way offers an uninterrupted east-west movement of containers from Dock Link Road to the broader port area, facilitating a smoother rail connection and taking trucks off Melbourne roads. The new road is part of a significant milestone in the Port Rail Transformation Project, which involves developing and constructing a new rail terminal interfacing with the Swanson Dock East International Container Terminal. The rail terminal with two new sidings can handle 600-metre-long trains. Upgrade to the common user rail infrastructure is also part of the project.
