Monthly Report: Container ship anchorage waiting times at global ports, October 2015

Key Points:

• Indonesia ports showed more containers traded in October
• Shipping traffic to Laem Chabang and East Port Said saw a noticeable slump
• Manila and Jawaharlal Nehru impacted by increased congestion   

Statistical Analysis:

In review of the navigation records of 4,703 full cellular container carriers, the anchorages of ports in Busan, Hong Kong and Ningbo required shorter waiting times as compared to the rest of top 10 container ports from around the world for October. Even though waiting times at anchorages cannot perfectly reflect conditions of port congestion, AWT (average waiting hours per ship) serves as a useful indicator on ship turnaround efficiency at ports. Only container ships greater than 500 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) eligible for international shipping were observed for this analysis. 

Anchorage Waiting Times, Top 10 Ports, October 2015

 Source: IHS Maritime & Trade, October 2015

 Asia Pacific

The top 4 ports in September held their same positions in October in terms of the total number of sailings. Singapore remains the world’s busiest port for sea-going containers. In the top 10 group, average waiting time (AWT) at Shanghai main ports, Kaohsiung and Qingdao, saw their waiting times increase that of others. Asian ports Hong Kong and Port Klang recorded increased traffic where the traffic they received increased 6.7% and 5.7%, respectively.

 South China’s ports Shekou, Mawan and Shantou received 10% and 20% more callings, respectively, compared to last month. Direct Berth Rates (DBR) of ports in Shenzhen like Shekou, Chiwan and Mawan and Guangzhou decreased 40% to 60% and their Average Waiting Time (AWT) correspondingly increased by 3 to 5 hours.

 Direct Berth Rates (DBR) of Guangzhou port and the three ports in Shenzhen including Shekou, Chiwan and Mawan collectively decreased 40% to 60% and their Average Waiting Time (AWT) correspondingly increased by 3 to 5 hours.

 Indonesian ports saw more containers traded with 20% and 13.2% more container ships calling at Tanjung Priok and Tanjung Perak. The other two smaller ports Belawan and Makassar each had more than 20% ships visited as well. The DBR of these four ports all improved, however, with the AWT of Tanjung Perak and Belawan at 8.3 and 6.1 hours, respectively.

 Japan in general had less container trades in October, notably the Kawasaki ships seeing a reduction of 6.25%. Consequently, Japan’s DBR for its ports all increased except in Kobe.

 Traffic to Laem Chabang in Thailand slumped 37%, which pushed its DBR to 54%. In the Philippines, the daytime truck ban caused severe road congestion in Manila and caused its ports’ AWT jumped to 22.4 hours. This figure now matches that of Jawaharlal Nehru, India, where shipping traffic is still depressed and suffers from severe port congestion.

 United States

Congestion caused by labour shortages continues to be a drag on Oakland’s performance with its port AWT hitting 20.5 hours during the October month. The West Coast is also getting hit with longer waiting times with disruptions by ongoing lorry drivers’ strikes with Los Angeles experiencing a 10-hour increment in AWT to 16.1 hours, while Long Beach saw an increment of 9.4 hours to 23.6 hours.

 Europe

Shipping volumes to both Spanish ports Algeciras and Valencia rose to more than 5% each. Algeciras’s AWT lowered by half to 8.5 hours, and also saw a noticeable drop in its DBR. Compared to last month, 3.25% more ships called at Bremerhaven in Germany, which saw its AWT slightly decreased to 9.2 hours and its DBR increased 5.59%. Meanwhile the port performance at Hamburg remained flat at 9.38%, while there was increased traffic to the Ambarli port in Turkey. Felixstowe in UK increased its DBR to 72%.

 Other Ports

Container shipping to the East Port Said, Egypt, dramatically declined by almost half, but its AWT still held above 10 hours. South African port Durban had 14.61% more traffic and its DBR increased 12.44%. In the Middle East, weather conditions were a concern for port operations in Salalah, Oman, with 7% more traffic up in October and the AWT lengthened to 24 hours. Vancouver in Canada recorded 7.81% less traffic and its DBR reached 53%. More ships called to all 4 major ports in Brazil and the volume at a country level grew to about 20%.