Sea freight delays persist, with severe port congestion continuing across Southeast Asia. In Bangladesh, recent flooding is compounding efforts to clear the backlog left by the recent civil unrest.

Rough seas caused by bad weather off the Cape of Good Hope continue to prolong transit times for vessels rerouting around Africa due to the Red Sea conflict. However, on a positive note, there are subtle signs of decreasing demand for goods from China, slightly narrowing the gap between supply and demand, and easing pressure on capacity. Despite these improvements in China, the benefits have yet to reach Southeast Asian hub ports, which are still experiencing severe congestion. Challenges to the current market situation include:

Chinese Port Delays Easing: The situation in China is beginning to stabilise, with an improvement in service levels. Vessels are now only facing delays of a few days at key ports like Ningbo and Shanghai.

SE Asia Severe Port Congestion: Southeast Asia continues to grapple with severe congestion at key hub ports, including Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas and Yangon which is particularly gridlocked. This congestion is causing delays in feeder vessel connections, further disrupting the regular feeder vessel rotation.

Bangladesh Flooding Exacerbating Delays: Despite the political unrest easing over two weeks ago, Chittagong (Chattogram) Port remains under significant pressure, with container volumes at depots still nearly double the usual levels. Adding to the strain, severe flooding caused by torrential rain over the past week is further hampering operations at the port and delaying hauliers from making deliveries.

Threat of Strikes at India’s Ports: The indefinite strike threatened by dockworkers at 12 major ports in India has been postponed to 9th September as negotiations continue. The workers are demanding immediate resolution of pay revisions and allowances. If the strike goes ahead, it could significantly disrupt cargo movement, leading to increased congestion and delays.

We continue to face some disruption to vessel schedules and extended transit times. Regrettably, we expect these supply chain issues to persist into September and potentially continue until Golden Week.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your shipment, please contact our Customer Service Team at 01376 533039.