Newsletters

The Loadstar reported on 10 May that ocean carrier alliances are preparing to blank more than a third of their sailings from Asia over the coming weeks in response to a reduction in export freight, according to the latest report from Project44. The blanking strategies by the alliances to mitigate the impact of the COVID lockdowns in China will further extend cargo lead times, particularly to North Europe.

The supply chain platform’s data shows that between weeks 17 and 23, THE Alliance will blank 33% of its scheduled sailings from Asia, the Ocean Alliance will void 37%, while the 2M alliance will cancel 39% of its head haul voyages. With regards to port congestion, Project44 data revealed that import dwell time at the port of Shanghai peaked at nearly 16 days at the end of April, while export dwell times remained “relatively stable, at around three days”. This is mostly due to a shortage of truckers to haul out offloaded containers. In the same vein, a drastic reduction in export freight to the port has meant fewer containers can be shipped out of Shanghai, mellowing export dwell times.

Meanwhile, as a consequence of the export cargo disruptions in China and the resulting cancellations of sailings, cargo lead times from Asia to North Europe continue to grow, with the UK suffering the worst impact due to the port rationalisation strategies of the carriers. Project44 data shows lead times from China to North Europe and the UK have increased by 20% and 27%, respectively, in the past 12 months.

Source: The Loadstar