Container ports face rate pressure as congestion ties up 11% of fleet

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Container port congestion has risen to a four-year high, tightening available capacity just as carriers prepare another round of freight rate increases from 1 July.

Data from Linerlytica shows nearly 3.7m teu, or 11% of the global container fleet, is currently tied up waiting for berths. North Asia accounts for 38% of global congestion, followed by North Europe at 13%. South-east Asia, the Mediterranean and Africa each account for 9%.

The pressure is particularly visible in Europe. Linerlytica said congestion remains “very severe” across Benelux and German ports, with delays of up to a week.

Rotterdam avoided a further disruption after planned demonstrations by Dutch activist group Geef Tegengas around the port were called off during a severe heatwave. Logistics advisories had warned that actions planned for 26 and 27 June could affect road, rail and inland waterway operations around the port.

The congestion picture is uneven. GoComet data shows vessels waiting about two days in Singapore, with container dwell times of three days for exports and two days for imports.

In Shanghai, ships are waiting around three days, while dwell times stand at four days for export boxes and three days for imports. Shanghai remains the world’s busiest container port and a key barometer for export flows from China.

Rotterdam shows a different pattern. Ships are waiting about one day, but dwell times are longer, at seven days for outbound containers and four days for inbound cargo. That matters for inland supply chains because a vessel may berth, discharge and sail, while boxes still sit in the yard waiting for the next move.

For shippers, it is like clearing the front door while the hallway remains blocked. The ship delay is only one part of the problem. The container still needs to move through the terminal, onto a truck, barge or train, and into the hinterland.

The operational squeeze is feeding directly into freight markets. Global teu-mile demand growth is running at 7.3%, ahead of vessel supply growth of 5.4%, according to the figures cited by Linerlytica.

The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index moved above 3,200 points on Friday. Trading Economics put the index at 3,239.64 points on 30 June, up nearly 26% over the previous month.

Rates from Shanghai to North Europe rose 6% from 19 June to $3,342 per teu. For 40 ft containers, the increase was steeper, up 12% to $5,766. The Shanghai to Mediterranean rate rose 10% to $4,666 per teu.

Transpacific rates also climbed. Shanghai to the US west coast rose 7% to $6,067 per 40 ft, while Shanghai to the US east coast gained 7% to $7,384 per 40 ft.

Linerlytica said Asia to North Europe capacity availability slipped in June, with 11 blanked sailings compared with seven originally expected. Further slippage is expected in July.

The transpacific market remains under pressure, especially into the US east coast. Linerlytica said rates on that route are set to breach $8,500 per 40 ft in July.

Carriers are also seeking fresh increases on Far East to US west coast shipments, with some aiming to push rates above $7,000 per 40 ft.

That effort may face resistance from within the carrier market itself. Linerlytica said Maersk and its Gemini Cooperation partner Hapag-Lloyd were offering preferential rates below $6,000 per 40 ft on the same trade, potentially limiting competitors’ ability to lift prices.

For cargo owners, the market is again showing how quickly schedule disruption can become a pricing issue. A delayed berth removes capacity. A blanked sailing removes more. A longer dwell time slows the box cycle. None of these factors needs to shut a port to create cost pressure.

The result is a container market where the main question is not only whether ships can arrive, but whether cargo can move through the port system fast enough once they do.