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Container shortage! On average, 3.5 cabinets went out and only 1 came back!

Release time:

2023-05-30 11:48

集装箱荒！柜子平均出去3.5个，只回来1个！

Foreign boxes cannot be stacked, but domestic boxes are not available.

Recently, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a press conference, “Containers are accumulating in large numbers, and the space available for storage is getting less and less. It is simply impossible for all of us to keep up with so many cargoes.”

When the MSC ships arrived at the APM terminal in October, they unloaded 32,953 TEUs at one time.

Data from Container xChange shows that Shanghai's container availability index this week was 0.07, which is still a “container shortage”. 集装箱荒！柜子平均出去3.5个，只回来1个！

According to the latest news from HELLENIC SHIPPING NEWS, the transportation volume of the Port of Los Angeles in October exceeded 980,729 TEUs, an increase of 27.3% compared to October 2019.

Gene Seroka said: "The overall transaction volume is strong, but trade imbalances are still worrying. One-way trade adds logistical challenges to the supply chain."

But he also said: "On average for every three and a half containers imported from abroad to Los Angeles, only one container is full of American export goods."

3.5 boxes went out, only one came back.

集装箱荒！柜子平均出去3.5个，只回来1个！

Ke Wensheng, Chief Executive Officer of Maersk Marine and Logistics, said: “Due to the congestion at the destination port of the cargo and the shortage of local truck drivers, it is difficult for us to bring back empty containers to Asia.”

Ke Wensheng said the crux of the serious shortage of containers-the decline in circulation speed.

The prolonged waiting time for ships due to port congestion is an important factor in the decline of container flow efficiency.

Industry professionals said:

"From June to October, the comprehensive on-time rate index of the world's nine main routes continued to decline, and the average late berthing time of a single vessel continued to increase, respectively 1.18 days, 1.11 days, 1.88 days, 2.24 days and 2.55 days.

In October, the comprehensive on-time rate of the nine major global routes was only 39.4%, compared with 71.1% in the same period in 2019."

集装箱荒！柜子平均出去3.5个，只回来1个！

During the extremely difficult period, to ensure the smooth operation of global logistics, liner companies had to adopt unconventional container deployment strategies.

1. Priority transfer back to empty containers;

Some liner companies have chosen to transfer empty containers back to Asia as quickly as possible.

2. Shorten the free box period, you all know this;

Some liner companies choose to temporarily reduce the free container period to stimulate and speed up the circulation of containers.

3. For key routes, the base port of long-distance voyage has priority to use boxes;

According to Flexport's Shipping Market Trends, since August, liner companies have prioritized the deployment of vacant containers to countries and regions such as China, Southeast Asia, and other countries and regions to ensure containers for key routes.

4. Control box.

An operator of a liner company said: “We are now very concerned about the slowness of container return. For example, some areas in Africa cannot receive goods normally, causing the container to go or not. We will comprehensively evaluate and reasonably put the container.”

5. Get new boxes at a high price.

According to an executive of a liner company, “Since the beginning of the year, the price of standard dry cargo containers has risen from US$1,600 to US$2,500. New orders from container manufacturers are increasing, and production has been scheduled until the Spring Festival in 2021.”

"In the context of the exceptional shortage of containers, liner companies are acquiring new containers at a high price."

Although liner companies have spared no effort in deploying containers to meet freight demand, the current situation shows that the shortage of containers cannot be solved overnight.

(Content compiled from overseas shipping)