Check the global port congestion in 2021. Will it continue in 2022?

In 2021, port congestion in the shipping market is unprecedented, seriously disrupting the global supply chain.
Novel coronavirus pneumonia caused the operation of the port to be interrupted, and the trade dispute between China and Australia led to the delay of the ship. Then, the ship's grounding accident caused the Suez canal to be blocked. At present, the West Port is still in extreme congestion and there is no sign of relief. This is a true portrayal of global port congestion in 2021.
According to the data, there are still 2366401teu and 181635500 DWT capacity waiting in the world, accounting for 10% of the total capacity of the global container fleet and 20% of the total capacity of the bulk cargo fleet respectively. Congestion has become the most important factor affecting ship utilization and freight after the epidemic, and will affect the market prospect in 2022.
Congestion I: China Australia coal "ban"
In July 2020, it was the first time that China banned the import of Australian coal. Mainly because China began to use more domestic coal and other alternative sources at that time, and no longer relied too much on coal imported from Australia. This makes hundreds of bulk carriers from Australia waiting to unload at Chinese ports.
This impact will continue until 2021. Compared with the same period in 2020, the number of Cape of good hope and Panamax bulk carriers from Australia to China decreased by 17% and the freight volume decreased by 14% in the first half of 2021.
According to the statistics of vesselsvalue, a well-known ship valuation company, the number of ships with Australian coal waiting near China increased significantly from April to August 2020. Cape of good hope, Panamax and super Panamax bulk carriers account for the majority of waiting ships. It was not until the second quarter of 2021 that the number of ship congestion began to decline, but the ship delay was still very serious.
Since May 2021, the number of Cape ships waiting near Chinese ports has increased again, reaching a high level similar to the same period in 2020. In September 2021, due to the high demand for coal for power generation, China began to accept some goods from Australia, and the number of Australian bulk carriers waiting to berth at Chinese ports decreased by about 50%. China's coal "ban" on Australia also clearly shows the huge fluctuations brought to the shipping market by geopolitical and commodity demand changes.
Congestion 2: Suez Canal blocked
In March 2021, evergiven ran aground on the Suez Canal, blocking the world's most important shipping channel for six days and disrupting the global supply chain, which lasted until the second quarter. This has also become the largest "black swan" event in the shipping industry in the whole year. On March 26, three days after the jam, the number of ships waiting to pass through the Suez Canal reached 169, of which bulk carriers and container ships were the most affected. When the "Changci" ship floated again on March 29, the number of waiting ships had exceeded 300, an increase of 30% over the average number of ships waiting to pass through the Suez Canal every day in 2020
253%。 Due to the week-long blockage of the Suez Canal, some ships had to choose alternative routes and divert to the Cape of good hope, which cost huge additional time and cost. The voyage of large container ships increased by an average of 8 days. Nevertheless, many ships continued to sail to the blocked channel, increasing the time required for subsequent dredging of the canal.
Two days after the Suez Canal was dredged, the number of ships congested around the canal has decreased by more than 50%, but the chain effect is also beginning to appear. The congestion is transmitted from the canal to Rotterdam and other destination ports in northwest Europe, aggravating the congestion of European ports.
Congestion 3: some docks in China are blocked due to the epidemic
The novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak and severe weather in 2021 brought some impact to China's container ports. Especially, some ports due to epidemic control and control have brought great challenges to port operation.
In 2021, due to the rebound of consumer demand suppressed by the epidemic, the transportation volume surged. As the world's most important commodity manufacturing center, the volume of containers exported from China to the world increased sharply.
However, from January to April, the average number of ships waiting at China's major container ports per day was only 88, similar to that in the previous two years. However, in May, due to the outbreak of the epidemic in Yantian port, strict epidemic prevention measures were taken, which exacerbated the port congestion. In August, Ningbo Zhoushan port also closed some docks due to the epidemic. In addition, as the typhoon "fireworks" hit East China in July, it affected the business of the two major container ports of Shanghai port and Ningbo Zhoushan port, making the congestion of Chinese ports reach a peak.
Congestion IV: low efficiency of Meixi Wharf
At present, the hardest hit area of global port congestion is the west coast of the United States, especially the number of container ships waiting for unloading at Los Angeles port and Long Beach port in California, which continues to increase significantly. According to the latest data, the number and average waiting time of container ships waiting to berth outside the two ports in November were 83 and nearly 17 days respectively, both reaching a recent high.
In fact, since July 2021, the congestion of ports on the west coast of the United States has continued to rise, and there is no sign of relief until now. This directly leads to the shortage of container ship capacity worldwide and the continuous rise of charter price. In October, the daily rent of super Panamax container ships reached a staggering US $130000, an increase of more than 300% over the same period in 2020.
During severe congestion, the port will generally use as many docks and berths as possible to obtain the maximum throughput, but this will usually bring further pressure to the port operation and prolong the waiting time of ships.
In addition, the subsequent supply chain tension will also exacerbate port congestion, including a series of problems such as the shortage of truck drivers, which makes a large number of containers overstock in the west American port and can not be handled in time. Containers ready to return to Asia face the same problem. This means that there is a lack of container loading at the departure port in Asia, resulting in further delay in shipping schedule and increased operating costs.
Data show that 40% of imported containers in the United States are transported through Los Angeles port and Long Beach port. Container detention has a great impact on US imports, and this congestion is expected to continue for some time.
Congestion 5: increased pressure on British ports
Not only the United States, in order to fill the shelves in time before Christmas, there have been congestion and ship delays in British ports recently.
Similar to the situation on the west coast of the United States, a large number of imported goods from China are waiting for unloading at British ports, especially felixto port, the largest container port in Britain. It is understood that 40% of Britain's imported containers are transported through felixtor port, including toys, fitness equipment, electrical appliances, clothing, frozen food, etc.