Dwell times at major Shenzhen ports remains "disruptively high," despite trending downward in recent days with the Port of Yantian at full capacity again according shipping and logistics analyst project44.
In a statement, it added that based on its data, the impact of the recent ports disruption in China— which was seen to have an effect greater than the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal — continues to be felt at ports across South China.
"The data suggests that disruptions related to China’s COVID-19 quarantine efforts could extend well into the year, impacting seasonal shipments as far out as Christmas," the Chicago-based project44 said.
Last month, Chinese authorities restricted operations at the Port of Yantian (YICT) in an effort to slow a Covid-19 outbreak in the region, creating a massive cargo bottleneck at the port.
Despite the port operating at full capacity again, the backlog is affecting the region’s manufacturing sector presenting a headache for shippers, one that is said to last for the immediate future, analysts at project44 noted.
As of July 1, the rolling seven-day average dwell times were 12.9 days for outbound (Port of Loading) and 4.2 days for inbound cargo (Port of Discharge).
It added that while high by pre-pandemic measurements, these numbers are well below last month’s high of 25.4 as a port of lading, which occurred on June 22.
"High port of lading dwell times suggest that port workers are still working their way through a massive backlog of cargo that has built up over the last month, both at the port, and in factories and warehouses across the region," it added, noting that this also corroborates reports that some factories have paused production due to lack of space, causing further supply chain delays that will be felt for months to come.
project44 said while yard density in Yantian is said to be down to 65% and overall productivity has increased to 85% of normal levels, the impact on Yantian port is also affecting some of the neighboring ports of Shekou, Nansha and Hong Kong.
It also noted that blanks sailings figures are also on the rise heading into July, reaching 17 on July 1, and 12 on July 2.
The shipping and logistics analyst said while these figures are well below last month’s high of 26 blank sailings, which occurred on June 11, even in the teens, these blank sailings represent 189,203 and 107,326 TEU of total vessel capacity skipping YICT on the July 1 and 2 respectively.
"Most disruptive" of the year
"While we can see that cargo is moving through the port again, this event is shaping up to be one of the most disruptive of the year," said Josh Brazil, vice president of Marketing at project44.
"This is yet another reminder to shippers that disruptions can happen at any point, and that it’s increasingly important that they gain full visibility into their shipments, diversify and bolster their supply chains, and do everything possible to get ahead of events like these that are inevitable in today’s world," he added.
