Ports in Africa continue to face elevated levels of congestion due to operational impacts from ongoing infrastructure improvement projects and severe weather-related delays.
Ports in Asia are moving past a highly disruptive series of storms that caused flooding in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. The region also witnessed a large-scale Chinese military drill near the Taiwan Strait, the latest symbol of an increasingly strained relationship between China and Taiwan. A terminal workers strike is underway at the Port of Chittagong, Bangladesh, disrupting support operations at 19 inland container depots.
In Europe and Mexico, logistics disruptions from widespread farmers’ protests impacted cargo flows to major ports such as the Port of Athens, Greece, and the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico. Farmers have escalated protests in Greece and continue to block major roadways and border crossings, while renewed blockades have been threatened by agricultural carriers in Mexico following a previous cessation of strikes. The containership “One Continuity” also lost 45 containers during inclement weather near the Canary Islands, Spain. The ship is now docked at the Port of Las Palmas, Spain, to undergo damage assessments. In South America, the Port of Montevideo, Uruguay, faced a strike from port workers of the Cuenca del Plata Terminal (TCP) from December 11-12.
Regional Summaries
Africa
Elevated berth congestion, along with ongoing infrastructure improvement projects, has led to high wait times at several ports in Africa. The highest average wait times in the region were recorded at the Port of Conakry, Guinea, with averages of 14.7 days, according to Kuehne + Nagel, and a max wait time for anchored vessels as high as 30 days.
Average wait times at the Port of Beira, Mozambique, remain at heightened levels and currently stand at 11.5 days according to data from Everstream Analytics.
Congestion at the Port of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, has decreased slightly to 6.8 days on average, according to Kuehne + Nagel.
The Port of Douala, Cameroon, is facing average wait times of 2.8 days according to data from Everstream Analytics, due to operational limitations, and Hapag-Lloyd expects wait times to increase over the Christmas holiday season due to planned closures.
Weather, equipment shortages, and high transshipment volumes are leading to elevated wait times of 2.3 days at the Port of Mombasa, Kenya, according to Kuehne + Nagel.
The Port of Togo, Lome, saw an uptick in congestion, with average wait times increasing to 5.6 days, according to data from Everstream Analytics.
Asia & Oceania
Average waits at ports in Asia and Oceania have largely recovered following recent congestion related to inclement weather. Wait times are still elevated at the port of Qingdao, China, and stand at 2.7 days, according to Kuehne + Nagel, because of vessel bunching under high winds.
The Port of Manila, Philippines, is experiencing average wait times of 2.4 days, according to Kuehne + Nagel. The Port of Singapore, Singapore, has seen average wait times increase slightly to 1.5 days due to high yard utilization, according to data from Everstream Analytics and Hapag-Lloyd.
Hapag-Lloyd is reporting heavy disruption and delays at the Port of Shekou, China, and average wait times of just over 1 day, according to Kuehne + Nagel; however, Hapag-Lloyd reports that the port is also facing channel restrictions.
The Port of Melbourne, Australia, has seen wait times increase to 2.4 days on average, according to data from Kuehne + Nagel, due to vessel bunching.
Middle East & South Asia
Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, continues to be one of the most impacted ports in the region because of severe weather that brought torrential rain to the area over the past few weeks, with the storms impacting the availability of workers, according to Hapag-Lloyd. Average wait times at the port stand at 2.2 days according to Kuehne + Nagel, and the port continues to recover from the effects of Cyclone Ditwah.
The ports of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, have the next highest waiting times of ports in the region, with average waits at 1.2 and 1.3 days, respectively, according to data from Kuehne + Nagel.
Europe
Ports in Europe are experiencing high yard density and landside congestion, although average wait times remain muted. Ports in Spain saw an uptick in congestion, with the Port of Algeciras reporting average wait times of 1.9 days, the Port of Barcelona reporting average wait times of 2.5 days, and the Port of Valencia reporting average wait times of 3.1 days, according to data from Kuehne + Nagel.
The Port of Gdansk, Poland, and the Port of Felixstowe, United Kingdom, both reported average wait times of 1.5 days, according to Kuehne + Nagel. The Port of Genoa, Italy, reported some impact on operations due to the recent strike, and average wait times stand at 2 days according to data from Kuehne + Nagel and Hapag-Lloyd.
Americas
Average wait times remain low at ports in North America, with the highest average wait times reported at the Port of Prince Rupert, Canada, with average waits at 4.1 days, and at the Port of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, with average waits at 2.1 days, according to data from Everstream Analytics. The Port of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico, also reported that the recent farmers’ protest had impacted operations.
Across the United States, average wait times were low, with the ports of Oakland and Norfolk reporting the highest average waiting times of 1.7 and 18 days, respectively.
In South America, ports in Brazil are experiencing elevated wait times. The Port of Santos, Brazil, is reporting average wait times of 1.6 days due to weather delays, according to data from Everstream Analytics and Hapag-Lloyd. The Port of Paranaguá, Brazil, is reporting average wait times of 4.8 days, according to data from Everstream Analytics. The Port of Itapoa, Brazil, is reporting average wait times of 5.3 days according to data from Kuehne + Nagel.
The Port of Antofagasta, Chile, is reporting average wait times of 2.4 days with operations disrupted due to high swell, according to data from Everstream Analytics and Hapag-Lloyd.
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