According to data from Sea-Intelligence, overall, 11.5% of the global capacity has been taken out of the market due to vessel delays in November 2021, a slight improvement from 12.3% in October 2021.

“However, it seems that there is no sign of imminent improvement, while the normal state of affairs in the market is that 2% of global capacity is ‘trapped’ in delays somewhere in the world,” noted Sea-Intelligence.

Container-news.com reports that 2021 was a year where demand grew 7% year-on-year, partly due to the downfall in early 2020, and at the same time capacity effectively was reduced by 11%. Sea-Intelligence used the bi-weekly customer advisories from the major South Korean container carrier, HMM, to calculate a terminal congestion index.

Maersk warns congestion is continuing to impact supply chains
The Maersk shipping company has also warned that port and terminal congestion will continue to cause delays to customers’ supply chains, with several major ports proving to be “particularly challenging”.

“Unfortunately, 2022 has not started off as we had hoped,” the company said in a customer advisory. “The pandemic is still going strong and unfortunately, we are seeing new outbreaks impacting our ability to move your cargo. General sickness remains high as key ports in key regions are seeing new coronavirus peaks.”