Positive Signs For North European Ports

Waiting times for vessels are starting to come down considerably in a number of North European ports, which had previously been crippled by congestion and delays.

In what looks like signs that ocean freight infrastructure may be starting to return to pre-pandemic levels, a number of key base ports are starting to move forward from the congestion that has haunted supply chain managers in the past two and a half years.

Both Antwerp and Rotterdam ports have recently reduced the longest wait time for a containership to berth to under five days. While Hamburg wait times are still high, they have been hindered by industrial action, which seems to be resolved and their times are reducing.

In the UK, both Southampton and London Gateway have eased significantly and carriers report to being back to allocated berthing windows, which will benefit schedule reliability.

A downturn in China’s production output and demand for Asia origin products is believed to be the turning point for the ports to return to normality.

Jenkar continue to offer an extensive range of ocean and air freight services at competitive rates to and from Asia. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team.