At Germany’s Bremerhaven port, the waiting time for cargo ships to unload containers has surged 77% since late March. Waiting times have also risen by 37% in Antwerp, 49% in Hamburg, and increased in Rotterdam and Felixstowe, UK. According to a report by Drewry, “Port congestion and processing delays are extending shipping times, disrupting traders’ inventory plans and increasing cargo volumes.” The report noted that early demand to ship goods before the U.S.-China high-tariff exemption expires on August 14 is further straining ports. It added, “Similar patterns are emerging not only in Europe but also in Shenzhen, China, and Los Angeles and New York in the U.S., with more ships waiting to dock since late April.”

Unstable orders from exporters and importers, combined with port congestion and longer transit times, are driving up overall logistics costs. Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company, said in an online seminar last week, “While European port congestion is showing signs of improvement, it will take another 6-8 weeks to be under control.”

Although the U.S.-China tariff “truce” began two weeks ago, there has not yet been a significant increase in logistics between the two countries. Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Management, remarked, “It’s unclear whether the 30% tariffs on China are still too high or if U.S. companies are waiting for tariffs to drop further.”
President Trump’s statement that he may impose 50% tariffs on the European Union (EU) has added to the confusion for exporters and importers.

A report by Oxford Economics on May 24 stated, “Additional policy uncertainty adds risk to corporate spending decisions, constraining global activity.” It identified Germany, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands as the most vulnerable, given their high U.S. export ratios relative to GDP.
Bloomberg Economics forecasted in a May 23 report, “An additional 50% tariff on the EU would reduce exports of targeted goods to the U.S. to near zero, cutting total EU exports to the U.S. by more than half.”

According to Vizion, a supply chain data provider, container bookings on China-to-U.S. routes surged to 2.29 million TEU (1 TEU = one 20-foot container) in the first week after the U.S.-China tariff truce, more than doubling from the previous week’s 910,000 TEU. However, bookings dropped to 1.37 million TEU the following week.
Experts explain that shipping companies reduced operations on China-to-U.S. routes after the intensification of the U.S.-China tariff war, leading to a shortage of container ship capacity.

By Yonhap News