An Industry & Informational Update

In a recent article from the Journal of Commerce, it was noted that Asia to Europe container shippers are finding that their ships are arriving late against their published schedules. More than 40% of vessels arriving from Asia at major European ports were more than 24 hours late, while more than 61% of vessel arrivals were more than 12 hours late, according to the supply chain software company CargoSmart. The results are from a survey of 709 vessel arrivals by 22 ocean carriers at six major North Europe ports between March 15 and April 15.

One possible reason for the delays is the increased size of ships in the Asia-Europe trade and ports' inability to keep pace with improved capacity. "As more mega-vessels with a capacity of over 14,000 TEUs are expected to be deployed on the Asia-Europe trade over the next year, it is foreseeable that some European ports and their terminals may have issues handling the influx of containers," said Graham Collins, director of sales and services of CargoSmart.

As a result, larger vessels are remaining in ports longer and generating more container volumes, placing immense pressure on port equipment and yard moves. The big alliances also mean that containers belonging to many different carriers can arrive on the same ship. To improve productivity, the bigger ports are investing in new berths and equipment, but delays in vessel arrivals will continue to have an impact on their operations. 

We are closely monitoring the situation and will be updating any clients whose shipments are directly affected. If you have any questions, please contact your move manager, who can provide you with the latest available information.