South China’s port congestion is getting worse, with the delays that began at Yantian (YICT) now spilling over to nearby Shekou and Nansha and the situation may continue to deteriorate as more positive COVID cases have been confirmed in Shenzhen, where Yantian and Shekou ports are located, and in Guangzhou, where Nansha port is located.
Current expectations are delays of up to 14 days, with productivity at berths in the western area of YICT, where mainline vessels call, still only at 30%.
Export container gate-in times have been cut to three days of a vessel’s estimated time of arrival at Shekou, and to seven days at Nansha, the latter seeing heavy traffic congestion resulting in five-hour delays for empty container pick-up and laden container gate-in.
There are justified fears the current situation will have a greater impact on supply chains than March’s Suez blockage, with experts suggesting that Yantian is unable to process 25,500 TEU/day, while Suez process 55,000 TEU/day.
The Suez Canal was blocked for six days by the Ever Given, holding up an estimated 330,000 TEU, while Yantian’s current congestion has already been running for over 14 days, delaying an estimated 357,000 TEU.
We recommend booking 3-5 weeks out.
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