The latest data from the World Health Organization shows that as of 2:08 on the 16th, Beijing time, there were 91,816,091 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia worldwide, with a total of 1,986,871 deaths. According to real-time statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 12:13 on the 16th, Beijing time, there were 93,816,953 confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 2 million deaths, and a total of 2,008,237 cases.
We are currently entering the second year of the COVID-19 epidemic. Considering the dynamics of virus transmission, the epidemic situation may be more severe than in the first year. Michael Ryan also pointed out that the northern hemisphere is particularly serious, especially in Europe and North America, and there are a series of factors that are exacerbating the spread of the virus in many countries. At present, ports around the world are experiencing congestion and slow operations. Logistics and supply chains have been severely affected, and cargo transportation will also face unprecedented “large-scale delays.”
The situation at ports in the West Coast of the United States, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia, Nigeria and other countries is even more severe and not optimistic.
United States
Affected by the epidemic, American people’s demand for Chinese goods has soared, snapping up furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, etc. made in China, and shipping them to China. Containers of goods are stacked six high like Lego blocks. Truckers were crowded in parking lots and waiting for hours to pick up their shipments.
The Port of Los Angeles, the largest port in the United States, continues to be under pressure from a large number of containers entering the port. At the same time, the port is severely congested, with a large number of ships waiting to berth. A surge in container imports has also caused congestion at ports, making it harder for trucks and vans to move goods out of ports quickly.
The congestion at U.S. ports has not been significantly alleviated. According to a report from the Southern California Marine Exchange, there are at least 47 ships waiting to enter the port at the outer anchorages of the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 34 of them are container ships, with a total carrying capacity of more than 270,000 TEU, and the largest ship is 16,022 TEU. In addition, as the epidemic continues to spread in the United States, the number of confirmed cases in the United States has been rising. A large number of logistics industry practitioners are also unable to continue working due to the diagnosis of new coronary pneumonia, causing many logistics parks in the United States to face serious manpower shortages.
The Inland Empire logistics zone (Inland Empire logistics zone), located about 100 kilometers east of the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, has become an important extension and logistics hub of the above two ports. However, due to a high proportion of employees in warehouses and distribution centers diagnosed with COVID-19, the supply chain of the logistics park is already extremely fragile.
It is worth noting that as US President-elect Biden will be officially sworn in on January 20, 2021, the United States may implement an economic stimulus plan of up to trillions of dollars. Biden once said: “In order to prevent economic collapse, we should now invest a lot of money to develop the economy. This is very necessary.”
UK
Felixstowe, the UK’s largest port, which normally handles 40% of all container traffic in the UK, is now spending more than 32 hours on average at the port, forcing shippers to divert cargo to other ports. Maersk and MSC began replacing Felixstowe with Liverpool on their transatlantic TA2/NEUATL2 loop route at the end of last year.
Trucks queuing up to enter the Port of Dover in Kent are undergoing document checks
This measure was introduced due to Brexit Hundreds of UK lorry drivers have been fined for traveling across Kent without permission. Since January 1, the UK is no longer bound by EU rules, and British police have issued 407 fines since the new rules came into effect. Lorries traveling to France from across the UK must obtain a Kent Pass before entering Kent so they can gain access to the Port of Dover or the Eurotunnel.
Extra permit checks have caused controversy and traffic jams at the border. Assistant Chief Constable Claire Nix of Kent Police said: “While the majority of HGV drivers traveling to Europe via the Port of Dover or the Eurotunnel do so with a valid Kent Pass entering the county, too many still have to stop. Accept the fine and return to the point of departure. “If this trend continues it could cause disruption to traffic in Kent, which is expected to see a significant increase in freight volumes over the coming weeks.
Australia
Recently, Australia’s container supply chain has experienced continued chaos, and this problem may not be effectively solved in a short time.
Due to previous strikes, ship schedules were disrupted, resulting in a backlog of cargo of “8 to 10 weeks”. But the union denied that the strike action was the main reason, saying that the surge in transport demand was the main reason.
In New SouthSydney container trucking is bearing the brunt of the Port Botany road congestion crisis as the state’s ports struggle to deal with it. This comes despite warnings from the trucking industry and then calls for action from authorities and container chains to ameliorate the chaos.
NSW Ports Corporation noted that over the past few months, Sydney’s Empty Container Terminal (ECP) has faced challenges from carriers and customers in unloading empty containers. of high demand. This high demand sometimes results in long queues of trucks outside exit control stations and on the roads leading to the port.
NSW Ports pointed out that truck queuing occurs on the Simblist and Friendship roads on an almost daily basis. Sometimes these queuing trucks not only cause severe congestion, but also create potential safety issues that must be addressed. While the management of truck queuing is the responsibility of the ECP operator, NSW Ports has decided to take action to address the issue by introducing additional temporary dedicated truck queuing areas in safe locations.
Malaysia
Serious congestion occurred around New Year’s Day in Westport, Klang, the busiest city. Due to the intensified congestion, many wholesalers and retailers said that Klang Container congestion at the West Port resulted in delivery delays of more than a month, adding unnecessary costs.
Datuk Zhang Shengwen, chairman of the Port Klang Authority, recently disclosed that after the container congestion problem occurred at Port Klang, the authority established a working team headed by the Ministry of Transport. In the past month , the working group has implemented a number of response measures, so the congestion problem has been significantly improved. Among them, the waiting time for cargo ships to dock for loading and unloading has been significantly reduced from an average of 5 days last month to 24 hours. After taking timely response measures, the container congestion situation at Port Klang has been effectively improved and alleviated, and all blocked refrigerated containers have been quarantined and cleared within one day.
Zhang Shengwen revealed that some shipping companies have also specially arranged extra cargo ships for this purpose, and the port authority has arranged for these cargo ships to dock first to speed up the loading and unloading time. In addition, shipping agents and importers are also working hard to remove import containers in advance to avoid storage of containers in the port area.
“Although the congestion problem at Port Klang is mainly caused by external factors, the Port Authority and logistics operators will still assume all responsibilities and strive to reduce the inconvenience to port users, especially during the Lunar New Year in February. Period.” He said that during the Lunar New Year period, cargo volume will also be at its “peak” period. All parties will continue to work closely to face problems together and respond appropriately to ensure timely and effective services to freight forwarders and shipping companies. Transportation companies provide services.
India
Due to the gradual weakening of hurricanes, Kattupalli Port has resumed normal export consignment of ships. The port is deploying all necessary resources to reduce berthing delays and speedy transfers.
Nigeria
In Nigeria’s busiest ports, TinCan Port and Apapa Port in Lagos, Due to cargo congestion at the port, no less than 43 ships laden with various goods are currently stuck in Lagos waters. Due to the limited space in the port, many ships are unable to enter the port and unload and can only be stranded at sea.
Congestion at the Lagos port has become so severe that it can now cost these trucks more than $4,000 to transport a container 20 kilometers inland in Nigeria, almost the same as shipping a container 12,000 nautical miles from China. Cost spent.
The pandemic-induced recession and recent turmoil in Nigeria’s commercial capital have exacerbated a long-standing crisis at the ports of Apapa and Tinkan, the main entry points into Africa’s largest economy. . Dozens of container ships are stranded at sea due to congestion, and hundreds of trucks have been stranded on the road for days or weeks, waiting to enter or exit ports.
Currently, the ports are extremely congested and the rise in sea freight prices has stimulated the nerves of shipping traders. The goods exported to the United States by some manufacturers cannot be delivered to the buyer’s warehouse on time because no one is unloading them and customs clearance is not timely. They can only dump the goods and abandon them, resulting in heavy losses. Pay close attention to the news of major ports in a timely manner in the near future, so as to avoid any problems and stop losses in time. </p
