For months, shippers, ports, and carriers have all
highlighted the challenges they faced in response to the surge in container
shipping volumes during the second half of 2020. Data analytics firm Ocean
Insights released new data highlighting just how extensive the delays have
been, which ports and carriers are experiencing under capacity, and a timeline
of market volatility.
During December, Ocean Insights reports that on average 37
percent of containers overall were delayed in the major cargo regions of
Europe, the US, and Asia as well as less cargo intensive regions such as Latin
America. According to Ocean Insights, on average, more than one in three
containers is being rolled over based on the percentage of cargo carried by
each line globally that left a port on a different vessel than originally
scheduled.
“Ocean Insights’ cargo delay statistics show how the bull
run is wreaking havoc on the market,” the company said in reporting its data.
The result is delays and unpredictability of shipments and cargo laying
stranded in the ports creating further chokepoints and backlogs. “Much of the
recent concern for rollover cargo has focused on reefer containers,” highlights
Ocean Insights. One consequence they are highlighting is reports that some
ports in China have run out of the power ports used to supply electricity to
reefer containers, jeopardizing perishable cargo.
“Of the 20 global ports for which Ocean Insights collates
data, 75 percent saw an increase in the levels of rollover cargo in December
compared to the previous month,” said Ocean insights’ Chief Operations Officer
Josh Brazil. “Major transshipment facilities such as Port Klang in Malaysia and
Colombo in Sri Lanka recorded 50 percent or more of cargo delayed, with the
world’s largest transshipment hub in Singapore and leading primary ports such
as Shanghai and Busan rolling over more than a third of their containers, last
month.”
While there has been extensive reporting about the shortage
of containers and the efforts the shipping lines have been making to reposition
the boxes, Ocean Insights highlights that it is only one of the consequences of
the current conditions. “Today, even if a beneficial cargo owner can get an
empty container for their cargo, there is no guarantee that the cargo will make
it onto a ship,” the report highlights.
The performance, of course, varies widely by individual
ports in part due to the number of actual containers moving through the port.
However, the raised level of demand is creating new challenges even for ports
that had been making progress. For example, they cite, the extra loader policy
in South Korea’s Busan Port, which saw a four percent reduction in its rollover
levels in November, only to lose most of those gains in December.
The major ocean shipping companies are also experiencing
similar increases in rollover values with the average rising from 35 percent in
November to 37 percent in December. However, according to Ocean Insights, three
lines left more than half their booked cargo at the departure port. Alliance
partners MSC and Maersk they report managed to stem the rise of the rollover
cargo month on month, both recording the same level of rollovers in December as
in the previous month, while HMM, which had been successful in limiting its
rollover cargoes, saw its rate double in December as volumes surged.
With industry experts are now warning that the cargo surge
could last well into 2021, Ocean Insights concludes that there is a strong
likelihood that the prevailing conditions will continue throughout the first
half of the year.