By Tina Wu

Yantian Port is now a “taboo” in the global maritime world, driving every carrier, freight forwarder and exporter/ importer to their greatest fear. After all terminals were back to full operations a month ago, Yantian Port is still struggling to digest the container backlog due to its one-month lockdown since late May.

According to local news reports, home appliances, toys and furniture have been waiting in line for export. Warehousing space is now occupied, forcing Chinese exporters to ship their cargo from Sheko, Nansha, and even northern ports like Ningbo and Shanghai. Shipping from Shenzhen to USA now costs USD 3000~5000 higher than from Shanghai. This attracts many awaiting cargos to the northern ports, resulting in higher trucking costs due to volume shift in such a large quantity.

Besides a great increase in road transport, shipping rates in the region also gained a stronger upward traction in the past month. Container freight rate at Ningbo Port, for example, grew 77% in mid-July, compared with the price level in mid-May before the outbreak. Several carriers, including Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, Zim, CMA CGA and ONE, already announced new peak season or congestion surcharges for transpacific route, ranging from USD 3000~5000 per feu, effective in mid-August and early September.

In terms of export destinations, Chinese customs administration earlier reported that the export volume of top 3 destination countries grew significantly in the first half of 2021, respectively 27.8% for ASEAN, 26.7% for EU and 34.6% for the U.S. The United States experienced the highest growth, valued at nearly $253.4 billion US dollars. Among all product types, mechatronics, textile, plastic products and furniture are more popular and sustain their growth for over 13 months.

As the largest single port in China, Yantian Port handles 10% of Chinese export cargos. But container backlog is not only slowing down the shipping schedule for export but continuingly driving freight rate to a new height. Port congestion and container backlog will still be the major obstacle for global shipping, where 10%~30% of capacity is now lost due to these problems. Market analysts predicted we will face the worst container shortage in the fourth quarter. Retailers are making shipping bookings at least three months in advance to meet the sales demand for Christmas.