Industry News

CHINA PORT CONGESTION INCREASING – CHINESE NEW YEAR ADVISORY

Please be advised that significant congestion and operational delays are currently impacting multiple Chinese export ports, including Shekou, Nansha, Shanghai, Ningbo and Qingdao.

At present:

• Vessels are experiencing berthing delays of approximately 3–10 days, and in some cases longer.

• Terminal yard capacity is extremely tight, making it difficult to collect empty containers or gate in laden containers.

• Since last weekend, large volumes of export containers have been queuing for pre-Chinese New Year gate-in, creating further pressure on terminal operations and vessel schedules.

As a result, berthing windows remain unpredictable and overall processing times are extended, which may affect planned sailings and transit times.

We recommend allowing additional lead time for both origin handling and vessel arrival at destination.

The weeks leading into Chinese New Year are traditionally the busiest shipping period of the year. Exporters move significant volumes ahead of the public holiday closure, placing heavy strain on carriers and terminals across China. Capacity tightens quickly, vessels become heavily booked, and schedule reliability declines.

Once the holiday period commences, operations reduce to skeleton staffing levels. When terminals and factories reopen, it can take several weeks for normal service levels to stabilise as accumulated backlogs are cleared.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates as required. Please speak with your TCF contact if you have cargo that requires priority planning.