Asian port congestion deepens as volumes surge, pushing freight rates higher
Since the second half of the year began, on-time arrival rates for ships at major Asian ports have fallen. The shipping industry says worsening arrival delays could increase upward pressure on ocean freight rates. According to Denmark-based maritime analytics firm Sea-Intelligence on the 8th, the on-time arrival rate in July for 14 major ports in ...
Asian ports have faced unprecedented congestion as shipping volumes surge, driving freight rates higher. In July, the global on-time arrival rate for container ships fell by 6.1 percentage points, with one ship in two missing its scheduled timeline. The worst-performing ports were China's Shanghai and Shekou, both dropping to single digits, while Malaysia's Port Klang and Vietnam's Vung Tau also saw significant declines.
The primary cause of the delays is the surge in cargo volumes, exacerbated by uncertainty over the U.S. government's tariff policy, which spurred demands to ship goods swiftly. Additionally, multiple typhoons have added to the disruption. The situation has led to a rise in freight rates, with the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index reaching a two-month high at 3,509.53 at the end of August, a 2.9% increase from the previous week.
Written by urgent.news from Hellenic Shipping News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.