Containers are now moving in and out of China at record speeds as shippers desperately source capacity, but port congestion in Europe and the United States continues to slow the return of boxes to Asia and is stymying the recovery of global ocean supply chains, according to a joint report by Hamburg-based logistics technology company Container xChange and applied research organisation Fraunhofer-CML.

As the rush to get exports to buyers soared last year, the average median time containers spent in Chinese depots dropped to just five days, down from 61 days in 2020.

China was not alone among leading exporters in seeing rapid box turnarounds last year. Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia recorded average median times that containers spent in depots of nine, 11, 16 and 19 days respectively, Container xChange said in a note.

Containers are now moving in and out of China at record speeds as shippers desperately source capacity, but port congestion in Europe and the US continues to slow the return of boxes to Asia and is stymying the recovery of global ocean supply chains, says a joint report by German logistics technology firm Container xChange and Fraunhofer-CML.

“Once containers reach Asia, they are being redeployed at record speeds. However, the mismatch between supply and demand at many origin ports, including in China, means it is hard for US and European importers to always secure boxes unless they have planned ahead, or are working closely with their box supplier, forwarder or container line, to ensure they have both a vessel slot and a container available in advance,” commented Johannes Schlingmeier, co-founder and chief executive officer, Container xChange.

By contrast, severe congestion in many destination ports saw container dwell times at depots reach near-record levels in 2021.

The worst performing countries in terms of the average median time containers spent in depots in 2021 were the United States. and the United Kingdom, which suffered average dwell times of 50 and 51 days respectively.

The next worst performers were South Africa (47 days), the United Arab Emirates (40 days), Pakistan (31 days) and Germany (25 days).

The study found that in the United States, the second-worst performer in terms of the average median time containers spent in depots in 2021, performance varied hugely by port.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)