Good Morning Clients & Partners,
Below please find our latest Freight and Logistics assessment & market update for January.
As always, we will keep you posted on any impacts to your cargo on an individual shipment level.
South African Port Updates
DURBAN
Intermittent bad weather (high winds) to affect the following:
• Pier 1 : 1-2 days
• Pier 2 : 2-5 days
• Durban Point : 3 days
CAPE TOWN
Vessel berthing delays have stabilized:
• CTCT : 7 days
• MPT : 3-7 days
High volumes of cargo and traffic at Cape Town terminals due to a newly introduced trucking stage area outside of the Port of Cape Town, causing queuing and delays in upliftment and delivery of containers.
PORT ELIZABETH
Vessel berthing delays have stabilized and remain low.
Intermittent wind expected during the week.
• PECT – 0-1 days
• NCT – 0 days
Global Update Updates
AFRICA
MAURITIUS
- Import scheduling remains stable with no serious delays experienced.
- Outbound scheduling is improving with less erratic carrier schedules, amendment of stack dates and delays experienced.
TANZANIA
- Berthing delays of 7-9 days expected at Dar es Salaam port.
KENYA
- Berthing delays of 3 days expected at Mombasa port.
GHANA
- Berthing delay of 1 day expected at Tema port.
ANGOLA
- Berthing delays of 3 days expected at Luanda port.
NORTH AMERICA
USA
- The Theurrent AMEX schedule (service run by Maersk / MSC) is increasingly erratic; with delays being experienced in both SA ports and USA ports.
- Trucking capacity is reduced in most areas in the USA, resulting in delays.
- Due to increased volume and labor shortage, most terminals are experiencing congestion issues; including New York, Baltimore, Norfolk, Savannah, Houston, Oakland, and Vancouver.
- Increased terminal dwell due to surge of import volume and labor shortage is the main challenges affecting rail services, especially in Chicago, Columbus and Los Angeles.
- New York: Vessel waiting time is up to 2 days due to severe port congestion.
CANADA
- Vancouver berth congestion has improved and are on schedule.
- Dwell times have improved to 3 days and are expected to remain at these levels.
- The terminal is still dealing with heavy rail congestion.
- Vessels are arriving late in Montreal due to severe weather on the North Atlantic Sea.
EUROPE
UNITED KINGDOM, MEDITERRANEAN
- Vessel schedule delays continue to impact the region.
- Previous challenges faced with labour shortages have improved.
BELGIUM
- All ANR terminals still have export delivery restrictions in place whereby gates for delivery of export cargo will be opened only 7 days before vessels’ ETA.
GERMANY
- Labour availability on water side improved due to lower yard utilization.
- Some gaps are showing in theberth line-up since vessel-bunching in the German Bight has been solved.
SPAIN
- Containers transshipping in Algeciras are experiencing delays of 3-4 weeks.
PORTUGAL
- There is a strike expected in Lisbon, Portugal until February 5, 2023. In addition, strikes are also expected to occur on January 20, 23, 27, and 30, 2023.
ITALY
- Containers transshipping in Algeciras are experiencing delays of 3-4 weeks.
INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT & MIDDLE EAST
INDIA
- All ports and terminals are operating efficiently.
UAE
- Jebel Ali port has no delays or congestion at present.
APAC
- Demand from Asia grew slightly as higher volumes pushed through prior to Chinese New Year.
- Delays continue to impact vessel scheduling as an increased number of blank sailings are The majority of ports and terminals continue to operate efficiently.
- South China & Hong Kong feeder operators have announced feeder service suspensions from Jan 1st until Jan 31st 2023.
NINGBO
- Strong winds this week have led to reduced port efficiencies.
YANTIAN
- Due to COVID-19 policy adjustment, both pilot and stevedore availability is reduced by 10%, lower vessel productivity and longer vessel port stay time is expected.
QINGDAO
- Intermittent port closure due and congestion due to strong winds and dense fog.
Food for thought
Nigeria’s “new” port:
Africa has relatively few natural harbours that offer shelter and are deep enough to take big vessels. Along the Atlantic coastline of West Africa, for instance, natural harbours exist only at Freetown and Lagos.
Consequently, artificial ports have been carved out of lagoon and river ports, which dot the coastline from Morocco to South Africa. Considerable capital and engineering know-how have been applied since the late nineteenth century to make African ports accessible to ocean shipping. Since the 1990s, African countries have engaged in a “ports race” to emerge as the shipping hub for their region.
In this context, the recent completion of the US$1.5 billion Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos, Nigeria, is significant. Lekki is one of Africa’s top six ports. It is Nigeria’s first fully automated port, and its largest. It has more than doubled the capacity of Lagos’ ports, which had remained the same for 25 years. It will accommodate the world’s largest cargo ships and is expected to reduce cargo wait times from over 50 days to two days.[1]
The future of supply chains:
Supply chains have undergone profound change over the past three years, but the transformation is far from complete.There is a long road ahead for companies, including a sourcing reversal from global to regional locations.
It predicts a shift of 25% of global trade within three years; currently 57% of goods are sourced abroad, versus 43% domestically, which will switch to in-country accounting for 57% of procurement.
Houssam Have, SVP of supply chain of automotive firm Stellantis, said that over the “last two years, survival was the main priority for companies, the focus has shifted to cost optimisation.Companies were asked for their top priorities: 58% mentioned operational efficiency and cost reduction; resilience was highest for 53% and agility to support new business models the priority for 49%. The next two elements – customer experience and sustainability – scored significantly lower, 26% and 22% respectively.
“It is clear that there’s no ‘one-size fits all’ solution, but organisations that lay the foundation for a data-driven, technology-enabled, scalable and sustainable supply chain are the ones that will reap the most impressive returns,” said Maynak Sharma, global supply chain lead at Capgemini. [2]
Climate disruption costs:
An analysis of some 1,340 ports by researchers at the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) found 40% are exposed to ‘maritime’ hazards, including tropical storms and flooding.
According to the study, port-specific risk amounted to a median of around $7.5bn a year.
Of this, $2.4bn, arose from the risk of tropical cyclone impacts,This was followed closely by river flooding,at $1.9bn, and coastal flooding, at $0.8bn.The numbers represent a median of annual financial risk.
Ports in western Europe were found to be particularly vulnerable to fluvial and coastal flooding, the study identified. Meanwhile the ports of Houston and Shanghai appeared to face the biggest potential risk from all causes. China, South Africa and Norway appeared to be hotspots for risk of logistics losses specific to cargo, which would make the biggest impact on cargo owners, rather than on ports.
Ports should consider “…the orientation and design of breakwaters when exposed to extreme waves and surges, and the drainage system when exposed to fluvial and pluvial [rainfall] flooding,” said research lead Jasper Verschuur.
Dr Ulreich predicts that ports will change their architecture to better adjust to the new climate normal. “It could make sense to think more about floating infrastructure and keep a lower part of the needed construction land-based,” he said. [3]
References for and further reading
SACO source information:
• Hapag Lloyd Weekly Customer Service & Operations Overview – Week 3 updates
• Maersk Customer Advisory – Weekly Service Update Week 3 – 20/01/2023
• MSC Customer Advisories – 16/01/2023 to 20/01/2023
• ONE Line General Information
• Transnet advisories as issued
• The LoadStar Publications
• gCaptain.com
• Shipco Transport
• Splash247.com
[1] https://gcaptain.com/nigerias-new-port-doubles-cargo-capacity/
[2] https://theloadstar.com/too-few-supply-chain-masters-ready-for-tectonic-shifts-in-strategy/
[3] https://theloadstar.com/climate-disruption-set-to-cost-ports-billions-says-new-study/
As always, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and ensure we minimize the negative impacts to your supply chains.
Best Regards
JJ & The Inter-Sped Team
