HOME

Freight & Logistics Update 18th April 2024

Freight & Logistics Update 18th April 2024

Good Day Clients & Partners,

Please find below the latest Freight & Logistics Update.  As always, the Inter-Sped team are ready to go the extra mile for you – so don’t hesitate to contact us.

SOUTH AFRICA    

DURBAN

The port reported windy weather during the week with no impact to operations.

  • Pier 1 : 4-5 days delay – Productivity remains below target. Estimated recovery in 3-4 weeks.
  • Pier 2 : 21-25 days delay – slight improvement from previous weeks. Estimated recovery remains 3-5 months.
  • Durban Point : 3 days

 

CAPE TOWN

The port experienced strong winds during the week which will has had an impact to operations and will likely lead to additional delays faced.

  • CTCT : 2-3 days delay – Full recovery still estimated at 2 weeks.
  • MPT : 2-3 days delay – Low productivity due to MHC (mobile harbour crane) breakdowns although some improvements seen.

 

PORT ELIZABETH

The port has reported some windy weather with no impact to operations during the week.

  • PECT : 0-1 day delay – Productivity meeting targets.
  • NCT : 3-4 days delay – Restoration of 3 berth operation and all 8 cranes operational.

 

AFRICA & INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS    

ANGOLA

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Luanda port.

 

GHANA

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Tema port.

 

IVORY COAST

  • No berthing delays experienced at Abidjan port.

 

KENYA

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Mombasa port.

 

MAURITIUS

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Port Louis.

 

MOZAMBIQUE

  • Berthing delays of 6 days experienced at Maputo port.

 

NAMIBIA

  • Berthing delays of 4 days experienced at Walvis Bay port.

 

NIGERIA

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Apapa port. Please take note of road maintenance taking place on the Ijora / Apapa bridge. These challenges will result in delays in container transfers to and from the port and may result in additional charges being raised.

 

TANZANIA

  • Berthing delays of 15 days experienced at Dar es Salaam port. Delays are due to vessels bunching.

 

NORTH AMERICA    

CANADA

Montreal

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at this port.

Toronto

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at this port.

Vancouver

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at this port. All marine terminals in Vancouver continue to manage through heavy congestion, resulting from an inadequate supply of rail cars from major Class 1 railways.

 

USA

Terminals Updates:

  • New York/New Jersey – Vessel waiting time is up to 2 days.
  • Norfolk – Vessel waiting time is up to 3 days. Berth congestion has eased overall, and the closure at the Port of Baltimore does not affect Norfolk berth congestion as far as container berths are concerned.
  • Charleston – Vessel waiting time is up to 7 days. Dock construction at Wando Welch terminal started on March 11, 2024, reducing berth space from 3 to 2 berths for one year. Berths will be given on first come, first serve basis.
  • Savannah – Vessel waiting time is up to 3 days.
  • Miami/Port Everglades – Vessel waiting time is up to 4 days.
  • Houston – Vessel waiting time is up to 1 day. Bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico continues to cause closures at ports south of Houston and delays on arrival, on short notice.
  • Los Angeles/Long Beach – Vessel waiting time is up to 2 days.
  • Seattle – Vessel waiting time is upto 1 day. Terminal 18 will be closed on April 12, 19 and 26, 2024.
  • Oakland – Vessel waiting time is up to 1 day. OICT will be closed both shifts on 4/15 due to pending blockade actions.

 

LATIN AMERICA    

BRAZIL

  • Berthing delays of 5 days experienced at Santos port.

 

NORTH WEST CONTINENT, UNITED KINGDOM, MEDITERRANEAN    

BELGIUM

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Antwerp port.

 

FRANCE

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Le Havre port. CNMP/GMP/TNMSC: 24 hours strike preannounced for Monday 08/04 did not materialize as the French government agreed to a meeting with the Union. Meeting will be held in the week, depending on the outcome further strike announcements are possible.

 

GERMANY

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Hamburg port and 2 days at Bremerhaven port.
  • CTA: Terminal started with shore power installations beginning of March, which slightly reduces berth availability, no impact to operations for this week.
  • CTB: Ongoing shore power construction presents low challenges to operations for all piers at CTB as the construction moves around the vessel arrivals. CTB closed one of the three deep sea berths due to old Gantry crane deconstruction, currently no impact to operations.

 

ITALY

  • Berthing delays of 5 days experienced at Genova port and 9 days at La Spezia port.

 

NETHERLANDS

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Rotterdam port.

 

SPAIN

  • Berthing delays of 5 days experienced at Barcelona port.

 

SWEDEN

  • No berthing delays experienced at Gothenburg port.

 

TURKEY

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Istanbul port.

 

UNITED KINGDOM

 

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at London Gateway port. Installation of recently delivered new Gantry cranes in progress. Second batch of cranes will leave Singapore by end of May. Disruption to Pilot service due to high winds earlier this week but fortunately, limited impact to vessel arrivals due to some gaps to the line-up.

 

INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT & MIDDLE EAST       

INDIA

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Nhava Sheva port and 1 day at Chennai port.

 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Jebel Ali port.

 

ASIA PACIFIC (Including Oceania)   

HONG KONG

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at this port.

 

KOREA

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Busan port.

 

MALAYSIA

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Port Kelang.

 

NANSHA

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at this port.

 

QINGDAO

  • Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at this port.

 

SHANGHAI / NINGBO

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Ningbo port and 3 days at Shanghai port. Delays are due to bunching of vessels and bad weather conditions.

 

SHEKOU / YANTIAN

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Shekou and Yantian ports.

 

XIAMEN

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at this port.

 

XINGANG

  • Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at this port.

 

SINGAPORE

  • Berthing delays of 3 days being experienced at this port. Delays experienced due to bunching of vessels, bad weather and yard congested. FCL containers transshipping in Singapore have expected delays of 2-3 weeks.

 

TAIWAN

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Kaohsiung port.

 

THAILAND

  • Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Bangkok port.

 

VIETNAM

  • Berthing delays of 1 day experienced at Ho Chi Minh and Hai Phong ports.

 

NEWS ARTICLES    

Transnet counters threat to imminent port privatisation

Date: 08th April 2024

South Africa’s logistics utility has confirmed that it has filed an opposing affidavit against a bid by the ports operator of AP Moller–Maersk to interdict the privatisation process at the Port of Durban of International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI).

This emerged after it was reported that APM Terminals (APMT) had filed papers at the Durban High Court, citing that it had not been allowed a proper, fair and compliant opportunity against the Filipino concession company’s bid.

This is despite the Manila-based operator winning the contract last year as the “Preferred Bidder” for the 25-year joint venture with Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) to develop and upgrade the terminal.

According to APMT, the bidding process started in 2022 but they only heard about ICTSI’s successful bid on March 1. However, ICTSI’s successful bid was announced last July.

Should APMT successfully interdict its rival against rolling out the management of Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2, it will throw a spanner in the works of long-awaited privatisation getting under way this month at the regularly congested port.

In response to APMT’s court bid, South Africa’s state-owned logistics utility said: “In processes of this nature, it is to be expected that a bidder would find reason to contest an outcome that is not in their favour. “Transnet believes that it followed due process in appointing the preferred partner for its DCT Pier 2, and will allow the legal process to take its course.”

Business Day reported that AP Moller–Maersk, the Danish operators of Maersk, had said: “We have a long history of doing business in SA and have a vested interest in improving port operations. “In that regard, we have in the past, and continue in the present, to assist Transnet where we can.” [1]

 

Fierce wind disrupts cargo at the Port of Cape Town

Date: 08th April 2024

Severe storms disrupted container movement at the Port of Cape Town on Sunday when wind speeds of up to 110 kilometres an hour forced ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to shut down automatically.

According to Freight News contributor Clifford Evans, one of the STS units recorded wind speed of about 60 knots at the port. It brought container movement to a halt as the hoisting and parallel movement of containers is too dangerous in high-speed winds.

Apart from STS cranes shutting down, swell surges added to the inclement conditions at the port. Despite the loss of throughput at the container terminal, the port had not closed down as had been reported by some sources, logistics utility Transnet said.

Sunday’s extreme weather marked a peak period of violent squalls that devastated large parts of the Cape, ripping through informal settlements, dangerously dispersing corrugated iron sheets through the air and fanning fires, one of which laid waste the historic 300-year-old Blaauklippen manor house in Stellenbosch. Cape Town International Airport suspended flights because of the adverse conditions. An inbound cruise liner at the port, the Ambience, with 1 400 passengers on board, colliding with a cargo vessel, the Grey Fox.

Transnet National Ports Authority has said that marine services at the port are currently operational. Although the provincial government braced itself for more extreme weather on Monday, April 8, Evans said the storm seemed to be subsiding. “It looks like the worst of it has passed. It’s some of the fiercest wind we have experienced in recent times,” Evans said. [2]

 

End-May deadline to restore full access to Port of Baltimore

Date: 12th April 2024

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District expects to open a limited access channel, 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep, to the Port of Baltimore by the end of this month.

This is according to the latest update from the USACE which says the channel will support one-way traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore for barge container service and some roll-on/roll-off vessels that move automobiles and farm equipment to and from the port.

The USACE is working with local, state and federal partners to clear the wreckage along the Fort McHenry Channel following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The engineers are aiming to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity. [3]

 

Panama Canal Plans to Normalize by 2025, Weather Permitting

Date: 11th April 2024

As the dry season draws to a close, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is adjusting its operations to align with the climate conditions. Taking into account the current and projected water level of Gatun Lake, the ACP has increased the number of transit slots from 24 to 27 per day, effective from March 25.

The ACP attributed the improvement to the implementation of its Operational Water Strategy and recent progress in watersaving initiatives. The ACP is optimistic that steady rainfall will begin by late April and continue for several months. Assuming these forecasts hold true, the ACP plans to gradually relax transit restrictions with the goal of fully normalizing operations—meaning 36 daily transits and 50-foot max. draft—by 2025. [4]

 

Vehicle imports clogging up terminals at European auto ports

Date: 12th April 2024

Significant numbers of imported new vehicles are reported to be clogging up terminals at European ports, amid changing dynamics in auto markets.

Port, car industry and supply chain executives told the UK Financial Times a major factor in the congestion was that some Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers were not selling their cars in Europe as quickly as expected. They also claimed ocean shipping delivery slots had been booked without ordering onward transport, which had led to lengthy dwell times at ports for vehicles that would normally be moved on to inland compounds and dealerships. One source claimed there were EVs imported from China that had been sitting at European ports for up to 18 months.

Mike Sturgeon, executive director of Brussels-based Association of European Vehicle Logistics, told The Loadstar he believed the origin of the congestion at ports was the post-Covid recovery of the automobile market, which saw established OEMs building a high level of stocks again. “Then came the surge in electric vehicle production, which has seen smaller manufacturers coming into the market and generating additional stock. Now, all OEMs are having to adapt to fluctuating consumption patterns, with a recent marked drop-off in demand for EVs resulting in stock they cannot sell, and the ports are bearing the brunt of it,” he said. [5]

 

WTO forecasts rebound in global trade

Date: 12th April 2024

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has predicted a gradual uptick in global goods trade this year following a contraction in 2023 that was driven by the lingering effects of high energy prices and inflation.

In its latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report, WTO economists predict the volume of world merchandise trade should increase by 2.6% in 2024 and 3.3% in 2025 after falling 1.2% in 2023. However, regional conflicts, geopolitical tensions and economic policy uncertainty pose substantial downside risks to the forecast.

Inflationary pressures are expected to abate this year, allowing real incomes to grow again — particularly in advanced economies — thus providing a boost to the consumption of manufactured goods. A recovery of demand for tradable goods in 2024 is already evident, with indices of new export orders pointing to improving conditions for trade at the start of the year.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “We are making progress towards global trade recovery, thanks to resilient supply chains and a solid multilateral trading framework — which are vital for improving livelihoods and welfare. It’s imperative that we mitigate risks like geopolitical strife and trade fragmentation to maintain economic growth and stability.”

Import volumes were down in most regions but especially in Europe, where they fell sharply. The main exceptions were large fuel-exporting economies, whose imports were sustained by strong export revenues as energy prices remained high by historical standards. World trade remained well above its pre-pandemic level throughout 2023. By the fourth quarter it was nearly unchanged compared to the same period in 2022 (+0.1%) and had only risen slightly compared to the same period in 2021 (+0.5%).

The special analytical section on the Red Sea crisis notes that while the economic impact of the Suez Canal disruptions stemming from the Middle East conflict has so far been relatively limited, some sectors, such as automotive products, fertilisers and retail, have already been affected by delays and freight costs hikes.

At a regional level, if current projections hold, Africa’s exports will grow faster than those of any other region in 2024, up 5.3%; this, however, is from a low base, since the continent’s exports remained depressed after the Covid-19 pandemic. [6]

 

Resurgence of Somali pirates creates another ‘danger zone’ for shipping

Date: 11th April 2024

The distressing ‘new normal’ of geopolitical tension has created danger zones for international shipping, with seafarers forced onto the front line. The ICC’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) yesterday released its Q1 report on maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia, showing 33 recorded incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships. This represents an 18.2% increase from the 27 incidents across the first three months of 2023. “Of the 33 incidents that had been reported, 24 vessels were boarded, six had attempted attacks, two were hijacked and one was fired upon,” says the report. Across these attacks, 35 crew members had been taken hostage, 9 kidnapped and 1 threatened.

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) secretary general John Denton said: “The resurgence of Somali pirate activity is worrying, and now more than ever it is crucial to protect trade, safeguard routes and the safety of seafarers who keep commerce moving. “All measures to ensure the uninterrupted free flow of goods throughout international supply chains must be taken.” [7]

 

SOURCES & REFERENCES     

[1] https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/transnet-counters-threat-imminent-port-privatisation

[2] https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/fierce-wind-disrupts-cargo-port-cape-town

[3] https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/end-may-deadline-restore-full-access-port-baltimore

[4] https://gcaptain.com/panama-canal-plans-to-normalize-by-2025-weather-permitting/

[5] https://theloadstar.com/vehicle-imports-clogging-up-terminals-at-european-auto-ports/

[6] https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/wto-forecasts-rebound-global-trade

[7] https://theloadstar.com/resurgence-of-somali-pirates-creates-another-danger-zone-for-shipping/

 

SACO CFR | Hapag Lloyd | Maersk | MSC | Transnet | The LoadStar Publications | gCaptain.com | Shipco Transport | Splash247.com | Freightnews | Hellenic Shipping News | Seatrade Maritime News | JAS Newsflash

We continue to monitor the freight world developments closely, and will be in contact with you directly for updates relevant to you on an individual shipment level.

 

Best Regards,

Coenie & The Inter-Sped Team