Global port congestion intensifies! 2 million TEU capacity trapped! This freight rate is hopeless. The freight rate will increase again in June

Currently, Singapore has become the latest congestion hotspot. Singapore is the world's second busiest container port, and its congestion has reached a critical level, exacerbating the shortage of ships and containers. According to Linerlytica data, container ships must wait up to 7 days to berth in Singapore, and the total capacity waiting for berthing has risen to 450,000 TEUs in recent days.

The bottleneck in Singapore is mainly due to diversions caused by the Red Sea crisis, and shipping lines skipping Malaysia's less busy Port Klang. Under normal circumstances, ships can anchor on arrival in Singapore, or wait for half a day at most.

"Severe congestion has forced some shipping lines to omit their originally scheduled port calls in Singapore, which will exacerbate problems at downstream ports, which will have to handle the extra volume," said the Linerlytica report. "Delays have also led to a gathering of ships, resulting in overflow congestion and ship schedule disruptions at downstream ports."

Hapag-Lloyd also said in its latest operations report that Singapore is the worst affected port in Asia, with waiting times of up to 110 hours due to crowded vessels.

Congestion in Asia has been increasing due to the diversion of the Red Sea, with some ports experiencing delays of two to seven days, according to a report by HSBC. "We do not believe that port congestion within Asia will ease soon, as growing demand in the United States and Europe, coupled with an early peak season, is exacerbating congestion."

“In the past week alone, increased port congestion has put more than 400,000 TEU of vessel capacity out of circulation, and the situation is expected to escalate further next month.” Asian ports are currently the most congested, with Southeast Asian ports accounting for 26% of global bottlenecks and Northeast Asian ports accounting for 23%.

The consulting firm said it expects port congestion to worsen in June, forcing liner operators to obtain new containers and extend charter periods beyond September.

Before shipping companies planned to raise freight rates on June 1 and June 15, port congestion also provided huge upward support for freight rates. The peak season effect is advanced, port congestion is intensified, and shipping capacity is tighter. Freight rates in June may rise even more...