The Port of Shanghai has almost fully reinstated daily operations, although the ongoing backlog will likely continue to disrupt the supply chain and cause congestion well into the year.
As reported by Bloomberg, the daily container throughput at the Port of Shanghai Port has rebounded to 95.3 per cent of the normal level according to Ministry of Transport official Li Huaqiang.
Cargo throughput at major Chinese ports between up until 24 May was up 4.2 per cent from the same period in April, whilst sinking by almost 1 per cent compared to 2021, he said.
“Our efforts at facilitating logistics are gradually moving from opening up the main artery to smoothing out the fine details,” Li added.
“In the next step, the ministry will focus on improving logistical efficiencies, protecting people’s livelihoods, and reducing burdens. We will provide more support to maintain economic and social stability.”
CMA CGM has also confirmed in its latest customer advisory that pressure on Shanghai yard resources is easing, while the waiting time for ships in the Waigaoqiao port area has shortened as more port employees resume work.
An analysis from VesselsValue on 27 May further showed that Shanghai’s congestion is expected to remain high for the time of year.
Although average waiting times for containerships remain around 13 hours higher compared to last year’s levels, the waiting times at Shanghai are showing signs of recovery going down to 36 hours from a peak of 69 hours in late April.
According to VesselsValue, data shows a downward trend with levels expected to steadily normalise as the COVID-19 outbreak recedes.
While the lockdown of Shanghai is slowly being lifted, the effects on production and supply chains will likely be felt for months.
With the current trends in the market, carriers are expected to be flooded with an extraordinary amount of containers – with capacity booming on the two Transpacific lanes by a little over 10 per cent in each of the upcoming 12 weeks compared to the respective weeks in 2019.
