Freight & Logistics Update 20 July 2023

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Good Afternoon, Clients & Partners,

Below please find the latest Freight & Logistics Update.

SOUTH AFRICA

DURBAN

Port berthing delays at the port has increased. The port has reported windy weather during the week.

Pier 1 : 2 day
Pier 2 : 2 days (Safari) & 5 days (MW1)
Durban Point : 3 days

CAPE TOWN

Berthing delays at Cape Town Container Terminal have increased as the port experiences high levels

of congestion. The port has reported strong winds during the week.

CTCT : 10 days
MPT : 0 days

PORT ELIZABETH

Port berthing delays have increased at both terminals. The port has reported windy weather during the week.

PECT : 7 day
NCT : 3 days

AFRICA & INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS

Port congestion in West African ports continues to be experienced leading to increased delays and affecting overall transit times. East African ports are also experiencing congestion however no severe impact.

MAURITIUS

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Port Louis.

ANGOLA

Reduced berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Luanda port.

GHANA

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Tema port.

NIGERIA

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Apapa port.

TANZANIA

Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Dar es Salaam port. The port is congested.

KENYA

Berthing delays of 1 day experienced at Mombasa port. A non-operational berth still remains.

MOZAMBIQUE

Pre-Inspection Certificates are mandatory for specified products being imported into Mozambique. Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Maputo port.

NAMIBIA

Berthing delays of 4 days experienced at Walvis Bay port.

DJIBOUTI

Electronic Cargo Tracking Note (ECTN) required for destination Djibouti effective 15th June 2023.

NORTH AMERICA

USA

Terminals Updates:

NY/NJ – Vessel waiting time is up to 1 day.
Norfolk – Vessel waiting time is up to 2 days. Berth for large vessels is congested due to previous multi-day periods of severe weather.
Savannah – Vessel waiting time is up to 3 days. Deep draft vessels continue to experience delays due to negative tides.
Charleston – Vessel waiting time is down to 1 day.
Miami/Port Everglades – Vessel waiting time is up to 2 days.
Houston – Vessel waiting time is up to 2 days.
Los Angeles/ Long Beach – Vessel waiting time is up to 4 days.
Seattle – Vessel waiting time is up to 3 days. WUT has received 2 new Post Panamax Cranes and will commence commissioning both at same time in the next 2 weeks, operational by end of August.
Oakland – Vessel waiting time is at 3 days

Rail Updates:

BNSF – Rail ramp is currently experiencing congestion in Chicago, Columbus, and Los Angeles.There are delays in picking-up and delivering containers at these locations.
UP/LAX/LGB – Rail ramp is currently experiencing congestion in Los Angeles. There are delays in picking-up and delivering containers at this location.

Equipment Availability:

Due to persistent congestion nationwide, chassis shortages continue to be observed resulting in potential delays for pick-up and delivery.

CANADA

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada have reached a tentative agreement, ending the strike. For exports – Gates across CPKC terminals are currently open for the acceptance of dry containers exclusively.

Shipco transport has advised that due to the strike situation which occurred, storage charges for shipments currently at their Vancouver CFS may be faced as their warehouse has reached maximum capacity due to rail/carrier vessel delays or vessel omissions which are beyond their control. They have granted 14 days free time for cargo in their facility, thereafter storage charges will apply.

Vancouver

The strike has ended. Vessel operations are planned to resume no later than 16:30 hrs. Pacific Time on July 14th, 2023.

Montreal

Vessels are arriving on proforma schedule. There are no issues with labour availability, and there is good productivity in the yard.

LATIN AMERICA

BRAZIL

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Santos port.

NORTH WEST CONTINENT, UNITED KINGDOM, MEDITERRANEAN

Vessel schedule delays continue to impact the region. Amended port rotations and port omissions on the carrier services, as well as vessel changes, cascading / rolled schedules and blank sailings may result in amended LCL cargo loading schedules.

BELGIUM

Increased berthing delays of 4 days experienced at Antwerp port. Friday 21/07 is a national holiday in Belgium. All terminals will continue with regular waterside operations, but the gates will be closed.

GERMANY

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Hamburg port. No berthing delays at Bremerhaven port. Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA): Terminal successfully worked through the vessel back-log from last week and is back to normal operations. Labour expected to be short over the weekend with the beginning of the summer school vacations in Germany. Berth line-up is full. Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) CTB started extensive berth renovations on berth 1+2. Construction will last for 10 weeks. Berth 1+2 will be closed for operations during the construction but can be utilized as a layby pier. No operational impact from the berth works this week.

UNITED KINGDOM

Berthing delays of 1 day experienced at London Gateway port. Due to the ongoing expansion construction LGP with 20m less pier length, minimal impact to operations.

SPAIN

Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Barcelona port.

ITALY

Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Genova port and 3 days at La Spezia port. Genova, GPT terminal has possible gate in restrictions for DG exports, due to elevate number of IMO park limitations.

NETHERLANDS

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Rotterdam port. Last week’s storm related stoppage resulted in a slight vessel back-log. Terminal is successfully working through the backlog. susceptible to heat.

FRANCE

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Le Havre port and Fos-sur-Mer port. Ongoing summer vacation period with slight lack of labour expected to last until September.

TURKEY

Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Istanbul port.

INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT and MIDDLE EAST

Indian Sub-Continent carrier capacity is becoming constrained, and delays in vessel scheduling is an additional challenge being faced. Schedules are maintained where possible and multiple carriers are used on these services to maintain service reliability.

INDIA

Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Mundra port, while Nhava Sheva and Chennai ports are experiencing a 1 day berthing delay.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Jebel Ali port.

SRI LANKA

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Colombo port.

ASIA PACIFIC (Including Oceania)

Hazardous commodity acceptance out of China remains a challenge as approval for loading remains subject to carriers’ stringent acceptance protocols.

HONG KONG

Berthing delay of 1 day being experienced.

TAIWAN

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Kaohsiung port.

HUANGPU

Berthing delays of 6 days experienced at this port.

SHANGHAI / NINGBO

Berthing delays of 3 days experienced at Shanghai port and 2 days at Ningbo port. Vessel bunching experienced at Ningbo port.

QINGDAO

Berthing delays of 3 days experienced. Vessel bunching experienced outside of the port due to bad weather.

XIAMEN

Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at this port.

XINGANG

No berthing delays being experienced at this port.

KOREA

Berthing delays of 2 days experienced at Busan port.

VIETNAM

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

MALAYSIA

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Port Kelang.

THAILAND

Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Bangkok & Laem Chabang terminals.

SINGAPORE

Berthing delay of 1 day being experienced.

NEWS ARTICLES

Canadian strike ends as ILWU, BCMEA accept mediator’s terms

Date: 14th July 2023

The port strike that paralysed most cargo moves through Canadian west coast ports since 1 July moved closer to its end yesterday.

Both the ILWU and British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) endorsed the compromise suggested by a federal mediator, opening the way to ratification by their respective members.

According to an operations update by the port of Vancouver, some operations were already set to resume yesterday afternoon, hours after the two sides signalled acceptance of the proposed four-year labour agreement.

Both Vancouver and Rupert face a significant amount of delays, port swaps, and diversions that come on the heels of this latest development. We expect the railways, shippers, and ports will be feeling the operational effects of this for many weeks to come.

Rail operations are set to resume shortly; Canadian National expects most of its ramps to be accepting empties and exports again within 48-72 hours. It will take some time to clear the backlog. [1]

Industry broadly welcomes ‘more ambitious’ EU greener transport plan

Date: 12th July 2023

Hauliers have broadly welcomed the EU’s Greening Transport Package, but there are concerns over its proposed deadlines and alternative fuels infrastructure.

Unveiled yesterday, the package received strong support from European Combined Transport, the UIRR and IRU director of EU advocacy Raluca Marian, who described it as “far more ambitious” than its predecessor, presented a decade ago. She said: “This proposal offers serious opportunities to road goods transport companies to improve their operational efficiency, optimise the load factor and, therefore, reduce fuel consumption and emissions for both zero-emission and traditional fleets.”

The EU also announced plans for alternative fuels infrastructure, which the IRU believes does not go far enough, and suggests this “lack of cross-border flexibility” could result in SME firms being handicapped.

Under the changes, electric-charging infrastructure dedicated to heavy-duty vehicles must be deployed every 120km on 15% of the length of the TEN-T network by the end of 2025. The distance between will be reduced to 60km on the core, and 100km on the comprehensive, network. The IRU welcomed the increase in the target for 2027 from 40%, as initially proposed by the council, to 50%, as well as the unequivocal 100% target for 2030. However, it has questioned the derogations member states can use to limit infrastructure development or electricity generation.[2]

Carriers doing more for less, as lower freight rates take their toll

Date: 14th July 2023

Global container freight rates are still – marginally – exceeding pre-pandemic levels, according to Drewry’s latest assessment (although costs have risen).

Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) composite index points to a marginal, 0.9%, increase in the past week, reaching $1,488 per 40ft container (feu). However prices were drastically lower year on year; down 78.7% on the same week in 2022 and now stand at 86% below their peak of $10,377/feu in September 2021. However, comparing them with pre-pandemic levels is more favourable, rates remaining 5% above 2019 averages, despite a deluge of new buildings bringing overcapacity. [3]

SMEs must strike early for carrier space or risk being priced out

Date: 14th July 2023

SME shippers may represent carriers’ best chance of rescuing their peak seasons amidst ongoing weak demand from larger retailers, but they must strike before any economic rebound or risk being priced out.

“Carriers always focus on big shippers, as it’s easier to move a million tonnes for one client than for 25,” says shipping advisor for The Kemmsies Group, Dr Walter Kemmsies. “But right now, they’ve a problem in that those big shippers overstocked during the pandemic and their stock remains stubbornly high, they’re not selling and I don’t see them ordering space on ocean carriers any time soon.

While Dr Kemmsies believes ocean freight’s only chance of a peak season is by turning to SMEs as they seek capacity, he expects to see a sudden rush for space from larger shippers when “they realise the looming US recession is not coming”.

Contrasting popular reports, he said the “present economic wobbles” were the result of a failure of retailers and economists to recognise the impact of pandemic-era spending. “Retailers inundated supply chains with commodities during Covid, but as countries came out of lockdown, I believe they failed to consider how this would lead to less spending on consumables and more on services,” said Dr Kemmsies. “Rather than acknowledge this mistake, we saw CEOs of poorly performing businesses talking the US into recession by claiming consumers were not spending.”

“With MNC retailers not ordering, carriers have excess capacity and no one to take it, so SME forwarders and retailers can really take advantage of this,” Dr Kemmsies explained. “However, when the economy does not tank, MNC panic will lift and they will suddenly find themselves understocked for the peak season, and will be desperate to find space. Essentially, this will create a rush on capacity that will again price SMEs out.” [4]

Use of ‘smart’ containers speeds up as more carriers get onboard

Date: 11th July 2023

Updating a previous estimate, Drewry now says that by 2027, almost one-third of all containers will be equipped with telematics hardware.

A container becomes “smart” with the addition of a telematics device, enabling real-time tracking and monitoring, which boosts operational efficiency, equipment availability and supply chain control.

Last year, Drewry reckoned 25% of containers would be equipped with a tracking and telemetry device by 2026. However, by the end of last year, the number of telematic containers had shot up, by 57%, to 5.6% of boxes globally.

Prevalent in reefer trades, but with historically few examples on dry containers, this number will increase six-fold over the next five years, Drewry now says, to more than 10 million.

Drewry director and head of research products Martin Dixon told The Loadstar: “Until last year we took a fairly cautious view of adoption of these sensors. But I think it’s the effect of the first mover on competing carriers… it will force others to follow in order to keep up.”

Mr Dixon said a more transparent maritime supply chain would engender greater confidence in maritime supply chains, offering “better predictability, better planning and could ultimately allow [BCOs] to manage or lessen inventory”. [5]

SOURCES & REFERENCES

SACO CFR

[1] https://theloadstar.com/canadian-strike-ends-as-ilwu-bcmea-accept-mediators-terms/

[2] https://theloadstar.com/industry-broadly-welcomes-more-ambitious-eu-greener-transport-plan/

[3] https://theloadstar.com/carriers-doing-more-for-less-as-lower-freight-rates-take-their-toll/

[4] https://theloadstar.com/smes-must-strike-early-for-carrier-space-or-risk-being-priced-out/

[5] https://theloadstar.com/use-of-smart-containers-speeds-up-as-more-ocean-carriers-get-onboard/

We’re here to answer any questions or queries so don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Best regards,

JJ & The Inter-Sped Team