Navigating Port Congestion After the Suez Canal

Navigating the Impact of Port Congestion following the Suez Canal Blockage

Jesper Jepsen

April 5, 2021

Even before the Suez Canal blockage the shipping industry was facing extreme congestion levels in many ports across the globe, including those in the USA, Canada, South Korea, China, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. With demand remaining high, port congestion challenges will continue for months to come with increased volumes, restrictions due to COVID-19 requirements, and missed berthing windows.

Even if the Suez Canal is now open, the operational impact of a week blockage will have a ripple effect lasting for weeks:

A further deterioration of schedule reliability and additional equipment unbalance is to be anticipated even on Trade-Lanes not directly related to the Suez Canal.
Some steamship lines have stopped accepting new bookings from Europe to USA until end of April.

Marine terminals at the U.S. ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are experiencing some of the worst congestion, with anchorage times often exceeding a week. In March, the United States passed another stimulus bill, while at the same time, COVID-19 infection rates are decreasing, multiple states are relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, and the number of people vaccinated continues to grow. Consumer spending and retail imports are predicted to remain high, and even increase, throughout the spring and summer months, providing the ports with no relief when it comes to congestion.

While it can be challenging to avoid port congestion, there are some ways to minimize the impact of port congestion and plan for success.

Explore alternative gateway ports that face less congestion. With the congestion on the U.S West Coast, many are exploring other port options such as the Port of Seattle. Alternatively, some are choosing to bypass the U.S. West Coast altogether in favor of going through the Panama Canal and up the East Coast.
Plan ahead. At this time, planning ahead is key and booking shipments as soon as possible can help keep your supply chain moving. With the current equipment shortages and severe congestion at ports, some levels of delays are almost unavoidable. Therefore, it is important to build extra time into your schedule to account for the current conditions.
Consider utilizing other shipping methods. As in non-pandemic times, ocean freight affords the opportunity for cost reductions when compared to airfreight. However, the lead time is much longer than airfreight. When facing time constraints, air freight may be a more viable option. Another option to consider is LCL Ocean freight, smaller but more frequent shipments can keep your supply chain moving. While LCL also faces congestion issues it is much easier to be flexible and by splitting product on more vessels, better chance that cargo gets moved using multiple vessel/ports to get product through. Talk to your JAS representative for options on alternative shipping methods that fits your needs.
Stay in contact with your JAS representative. With the increased port congestion, it is more important than ever to stay in contact with your local representative so that you are aware of arrival times, equipment availability, and market conditions.

For more information on how to navigate the current port congestion, contact a JAS representative.

For more information about current ocean market conditions, read our most recent ocean market update: https://www.jas.com/market.

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