HOME

Weekly Freight & Logistics Update 09/03/2023

Weekly Freight & Logistics Update 09/03/2023

SOUTH AFRICA

DURBAN
• The port has reported strong winds during the week.
• Pier 1 : 0-1 days
• Pier 2 : 1 day
• Durban Point : 3 days

CAPE TOWN
• The port has reported strong disruptive winds during the week.
CTCT : 10 days
MPT : 5-7 days

PORT ELIZABETH
• The port has reported strong winds during the week.
PECT – 0-1 days
NCT – 1 day

AFRICA & INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS

MAURITIUS
• Reduced berthing delay of 2 days as the port recovers from recent congestion.

ANGOLA
• Berthing delay of 3 days continues to be experienced at Luanda port.

GHANA
• No changes to berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Tema port.

NIGERIA
• Increased berthing delay of 3 days experienced at Apapa port.

TANZANIA
• Reduced berthing delay of 5 days experienced at Dar es Salaam port.

KENYA
• Berthing delay of 3 days continues to be experienced at Mombasa port.

MOZAMBIQUE
• Berthing delay of 1 day continues to be experienced at Maputo port.

NORTH AMERICA

USA
Terminals Updates:
• NY/NJ – Vessel waiting time remains at 1 day. Import Dwell time at APM terminal is 2 days.
• Norfolk – vessel waiting time is 1-2 days. One crane down at Norfolk Int’l Terminal.
• Savannah – Vessel waiting time 2 days.
• Charleston – Vessel waiting time 2 days.
• Miami/Port Everglades – Vessel waiting time 2-4 days.
• Houston – Vessel waiting time 1-2 days.
• Los Angeles/ Long Beach – Vessel waiting time 4 days.
• Seattle – Vessel waiting time 1 day.
• Oakland – Vessel waiting time 3-5 days.

Rail Updates
• Rail ramp is currently experiencing congestion in Chicago, Columbus, and Los Angeles. There are delays in picking-up and delivering containers at these locations.

CANADA

MONTREAL
• Vessels are facing severe weather on the North Atlantic and expected to arrive in Montreal with 5-7 day of delays.

VANCOUVER
• Daily rail productivity remains below expectations due to reduced car supply and winter tier conditions resulting in shorter trains and reduced speeds.

LATIN AMERICA

BRAZIL
• Reduced 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 and blank sailings may result in amended cargo loading schedules.

BELGIUM
• All ANR terminals still have export delivery restrictions in place. Export cargo delivery gates will be opened only 7 days prior to vessel ETA. Reduced berthing delay of 1 day being experienced at Antwerp port.

GERMANY
• Berthing delay of 2 days currently experienced at Hamburg port.

UK
• Reduced berthing delay of 1 day experienced at London Gateway port.

SPAIN
• Berthing delay of 2 days experienced at Barcelona port.

NETHERLANDS
• Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Rotterdam port.

FRANCE
• Ongoing strikes continue to impact the ports. Berthing delays of 4 days still being experienced at Le Havre Port, while Fos-sus-Mer is experiencing reduced berthing delays of 2 days.

ITALY
• Berthing delay of 6 days experienced at Genova port.

FINLAND
• The port strike which started on 15th of February 2023 has officially ended on 2nd March 2023. Work will commence at every port immediately however not at full speed.

INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT and MIDDLE EAST

INDIA
• Berthing delay of 1 day experienced at Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Chennai ports.

UAE
• No change in the berthing delay of 1 day for Jebel Ali port.

ASIA PACIFIC (Including Oceania)

Most ports and terminals continue to operate efficiently with the only delays being experienced being on vessel scheduling.
Hazardous commodity acceptance out of China remains a challenge as approval for loading remains subject to carriers’ stringent acceptance protocols.

SHANGHAI / NINGBO
• Decreased berthing delay of 2 days experienced at both ports.

QINGDAO
• Intermittent port closure occurring due to strong winds and dense fog. Berthing delay of 1 day experienced.

SINGAPORE
• Berthing delay of 1 day experienced.

NEW ZEALAND
• Reduced berthing delay of 4 days being experienced in Auckland.

NEWS ARTICLES

SOUTH AFRICAN TRADE MOVES AWAY FROM AIR CARGO AS OCEAN RATES TUMBLE

South Africa is set to see a shift from air freight as importers and exporters eye tumbling sea freight rates and improved ocean reliability.

The automotive industry in particular will rely less on air, delegates heard at last week’s Air Cargo Africa event in Johannesburg. “The market has been very volatile,” explained Renaj Moothilal, executive director of South Africa’s component manufacturer association, NAACAM. “In the past, we’ve moved mostly by sea freight, but over the [pandemic] years, we’ve had a huge uptake towards air. Sea had issues. We’ve seen a 60% to 70% increased use of airfreight over the last three or four years.”

Jacques Mellet, head of logistics for Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, said his company had also turned to air freight. “We do just-in-time logistics, so sea freight is always a challenge. Covid had a huge impact and we had to turn to air. Normally, we do 80% sea freight, now it’s more like 60:40 or 50:50. We have to ensure plants run smoothly.”

According to the latest data from research consultancy Trade Data Service (TDS), last year air accounted for about 20% of the value of South African trade, with sea and road accounting for 67% and 12%, respectively. Overall trade by air declined by 1.2% last year, but exports were up slightly, by 0.5%, and much of the decline in imports was associated with a drop in Covid vaccines delivered.

About two-thirds of Africa’s air cargo volumes go through four airports, it said: Nairobi, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa and Lagos.” [1]

CARGO SHIFT FROM U.S WEST COAST TO EAST COAST PORTS

“US shippers and forwarders are offering conflicting pictures of the migration of freight from west to east coast ports. The National Retail Federation (NRF) is concerned that a number of issues could see congestion return to west coast ports, so they are “diversifying the risk” by sending cargo to east and Gulf coast gateways.

At the TPM23 Conference in Long Beach, NRF VP supply chain and customs policy Jonathan Gold said there were a number of issues on the west coast that had raised concerns among members. These include fears of work stoppages as contract negotiations enter their 11th month, the AB5 regulation, which could see freelance contractors reclassified as employees, which has tax implications, clean truck rules, which have cost implications, and insufficient regional warehousing.

According to Mr Gold, there are more warehouse facilities on the east coast and the expansion of the regional population increased demand from the hinterland, plus there was more certainty for shippers sending their freight through east and Gulf coast facilities, which made these ports a more attractive proposition for beneficial cargo owners. [2]

WORLD TRADE UPTICK EXPECTED AS CHINA EXPORTS REVIVE

“World merchandise trade growth dipped in the fourth quarter of 2022 and, while it is likely to remain weak for now, an uptick in trade in some sectors appears to be on the cards in the coming months.

This is according to the latest World Trade Organization Goods Trade Barometer, which reflected weakening trade growth in volume terms after falling to 92.2 in the fourth quarter of 2022, down from 96.2 the previous quarter and below the baseline value of 100. The Goods Trade Barometer provides real-time information on the trajectory of merchandise trade relative to recent trends, with values greater than 100 signalling above-trend trade volume while values less than 100 suggest that goods trade has either fallen below trend or will do so in the near future. [3]

FIATA CALLS FOR REASONABLE FREE TIME FOR CONTAINER USE

“The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) has urged shipping lines to review and reinstate the current free time periods back to no less than feasible, pre-pandemic levels.

FIATA said in a statement on Tuesday that while the decision to reduce the free time periods was one-sided, market conditions had changed and justifications for the status quo no longer remained valid. “Demurrage and detention charges are an important tool for supply chain stakeholders to ensure the efficient use of their container stock, which represents a substantial investment. Understanding the need for maintaining the velocity of cargo, containers need to be turned around as fast as possible,”

“With reduced volumes shipped, the strain on supply chain bottlenecks came down, and congestion has since eased substantially. The idle capacity of containers that were stuck in congestion are now also coming back into circulation,” said FIATA.

FIATA called for detention and demurrage practices to be brought in line with the velocity principle, with multi-stakeholder co-ordination to respond to market needs in a timely manner.” [4]

SHIPPERS WANT STABILITY AND SERVICE, NOT ROCK-BOTTOM FREIGHT RATES

“Service is always going to trump price,” said one delegate at the S&P Global TPM conference this week. “But it has to be a fair price,” he added. BCO procurement managers were trying to achieve just that during the traditional start to the transpacific contract season event.

Many were accompanied by their C-suite executives, as nearly 4,000 people networked and found spaces around the halls for those initial contract discussions with ocean carriers. The shipping lines are desperate to “rekindle relationships”, get contracts signed and MQC (minimum quantity commitments) agreed, to avoid being overly exposed to the spot market.
The buzz around coffee and dinner tables at TPM was of much shorter contracts being agreed – for three months rather than a year – and of some of the usual 12-month contracts being index-linked to offer security for both shipper and carrier.

Although not specifically discussed at the TPM contract sessions, several shippers expressed concerns about the fragility of the Asia-Europe trade lanes. Many annual contract negotiations that normally happen in November and December have been put on the back-burner while volatility in the market continues. [5]

REFERENCES & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Inter-Sped Source information:
• SACO-CFR
• Hapag Lloyd Weekly
• Maersk Customer Advisory
• MSC Customer Advisories
• Transnet Advisories
• The LoadStar Publications
• gCaptain.com
• Shipco Transport
• Splash247.com
• Freightnews
• Hellenic Shipping News

[1] https://theloadstar.com/south-african-trade-moves-away-from-air-cargo-as-ocean-rates-tumble/
[2] https://theloadstar.com/mixed-views-on-cargo-shift-from-us-west-coast-ports-to-the-east/
[3] https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/world-trade-uptick-expected-china-exports-revive
[4] https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/fiata-calls-reasonable-free-time-container-use
[5] https://theloadstar.com/shippers-want-stability-and-service-not-rock-bottom-freight-rates/