Since the beginning of this year about 2% of the shipping capacity has been jammed by port congestions. A recent analysis by Bank of America reveals Singapore, Dubai and the Mediterranean have emerged as the congestion hotspots amidst box shortage in the Asian region. Waiting time for berthing has gone up to as much as 7 days at Singapore and total capacity waiting for berthing has increased to 450,000 teus in recent days.
Escaping the congestion some of the shipping lines have skipped calls at Singapore creating further pressure on upcoming ports in the loop. The delays have also resulted in vessel bunching. Waiting time at Shanghai Port, the largest container port in the world is now highest as compared to the past three years. In order to maintain schedule reliability shipping lines on their long haul routes are now skipping ports plagued with congestion, resorting to blank sailing.
