By Brendan Murray (Bloomberg) –
Container shipping, the backbone of the global trading system, is showing signs of fatigue as the pandemic descends into its darkest days.
Carriers reaping the biggest profits in at least a decade are struggling to operate reliably as bottlenecks worsen around ports from southern England to Shanghai, contorting supply chains for everything from car parts to cosmetics and medical equipment.
Just 50.1% of container vessels arrived on time in November, down from 80% a year earlier and the lowest level in records dating back to 2011, according to a service reliability index compiled by Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence. From Asia to North America, on-time arrivals dropped below 30%, less than half the long-run average globally.
By Richard Weiss and Christopher Jasper (Bloomberg)
U.K. port snarl-ups would be exacerbated in a no-deal Brexit, shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd AG warned as vital ferry links to France remained closed for a second day amid concern about a new coronavirus strain.
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is desperately trying to re-open the key truck-ferry route between France and Dover, the No. 1 entryway for sea containers at Felixstowe, east of London, is itself badly congested. That situation will likely worsen without a trade accord with the European Union by a Dec. 31 deadline, according to Hapag-Lloyd.
“If there’s a no-deal Brexit there is going to be additional congestion and administrative troubles for the upcoming couple of months,” Rolf Habben Jansen, the firm’s chief executive officer, told Bloomberg Television. “Not so much because it’s a no-deal Brexit, but mainly because there’s a lot of unclarity about the rules that will then be in place.”
Bottlenecks Wear Down World Economy’s Fleet of Container Ships
Bloomberg 12/22/2020
(Bloomberg)
Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks Covid-19’s impact on trade. Sign up here, and
Popular Searches
Container shipping, the backbone of the global trading system, is showing signs of fatigue as the pandemic descends into its darkest days.
Carriers reaping the biggest profits in at least a decade are struggling to operate reliably as bottlenecks worsen around ports from southern England to Shanghai, contorting supply chains for everything from car parts to cosmetics and medical equipment.
Just 50.1% of container vessels arrived on time in November, down from 80% a year earlier and the lowest level in records dating back to 2011, according to a service reliability index compiled by Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence. From Asia to North America, on-time arrivals dropped below 30%, less than half the long-run average globally.