The latest data from the World Health Organization show that as of 2:08 on the 16th, Beijing time, there were 91816091 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia worldwide, and a total of 1986,871 deaths. According to real-time statistics from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 12:13 on the 16th Beijing time, there were 93,816,953 confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 2 million deaths, and a total of 2008,237 cases.
Now entering the second year of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, considering the dynamics of the spread of the virus, the epidemic situation may be more severe than the first year. Michael Ryan also pointed out that the northern hemisphere is particularly serious in Europe and North America, and a series of factors have increased the spread of the virus in many countries. At present, there are death congestion and slow operations in ports around the world, logistics and supply chains have been severely affected, and cargo transportation is bound to usher in unprecedented "large-scale delays."
The situation at the ports of the West Coast of the United States, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia, Nigeria and other countries is even more severe and it is not optimistic.
United States
Affected by the epidemic, the American people's demand for Chinese goods has soared. They are snapping up Chinese-made furniture, electrical appliances and bicycles. The containers carrying Chinese imported goods are stacked six stories high like Lego bricks. Truck drivers crowded in the parking lot and had to wait for hours to pick up the goods.
The Port of Los Angeles, the largest port in the United States, is continuing to bear the pressure of a large number of containers entering the port. At the same time, the port is heavily congested and a large number of ships are waiting to berth. The surge in container imports has also caused congestion in the port, making it more difficult for trucks and trucks to quickly move goods out of the port.
The congestion situation in US ports has not been significantly eased. According to a report from the Southern California Ocean Exchange, there are at least 47 ships waiting to enter the port at the anchorages outside the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Among them, 34 are container ships with a total capacity of more than 270,000 TEU. The largest ship is 16,022 TEU. In addition, as the epidemic continues to spread in the United States, the number of confirmed cases in the United States has been increasing, and a large number of logistics industry practitioners are also unable to continue working due to the diagnosis of new crown pneumonia. Many logistics parks in the United States are facing serious manpower shortages.
The Inland Empire logistics zone, located about 100 kilometers east of the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, has become an important extension and logistics hub of the above two ports. However, due to the high proportion of employees in warehouses and distribution centers diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia, the supply chain of the logistics park is extremely fragile.
It is worth noting that with the US President-elect Biden will be formally sworn in on January 20, 2021, the United States may implement a trillion-dollar economic stimulus plan. Biden once said: "In order to prevent economic collapse, we should now invest a lot of money to develop the economy, which is very necessary."
United Kingdom
Felixstowe, the largest port in the UK, usually handles 40% of all container traffic in the UK, and now the average ship stays in the port for more than 32 hours. This series of conditions forces shippers to transfer cargo to other ports. Since the end of last year, Maersk and MSC have replaced the port of Felixstowe with the port of Liverpool on their TA2/NEUATL2 loop route across the Atlantic.
Trucks waiting in line to enter the Port of Dover, Kent, are undergoing document checks
This measure introduced as a result of Brexit resulted in hundreds of British truck drivers being fined for crossing Kent without permission. Since January 1, the UK is no longer bound by EU rules. Since the new rules came into effect, the British police have issued 407 fines. Trucks travelling from all over the UK to France must obtain a Kent Pass before entering Kent, so that they can obtain the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel right of passage.
The additional permit checks caused controversy and traffic jams at the border. Kent County Police Department Assistant Sergeant Claire Nix said: “Although most HGV drivers who travel to Europe via the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel enter the county with a valid Kent County Pass, there are still too many people who have to stop. Accept the fine and return to the place of departure. "If this trend continues, it may cause traffic disruption in Kent, which is expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks.
Australia
Recently, Australia's container supply chain has been in constant chaos, and this problem may not be effectively resolved in a short period of time.
Due to previous strikes, the ship’s schedule was disrupted, resulting in a backlog of cargo for "8 to 10 weeks". However, the union denied that the strike was mainly due to the reason. The union claimed that the surge in transportation demand was the main reason.
In the process of New South Wales port's efforts to solve the road congestion in Botany Port, Sydney container trucks bear the brunt. Although the trucking industry issued a warning, it then called on the authorities and the container chain to take action to improve the chaos.
Ports of New South Wales pointed out that in the past few months, the empty container terminal (ECP) in Sydney has faced high demand from carriers and customers for empty container unloading. This high demand sometimes leads to long lines of trucks outside the exit control station and on the road to the port.
Ports of New South Wales pointed out that truck queues appear on Simblist and Friendship highways almost every day. Sometimes these trucks queue up not only to cause serious congestion, but also to potential safety issues that must be resolved. Although the management of the truck queue is the responsibility of the ECP operator, the Port of New South Wales has decided to take action to solve this problem by introducing additional temporary dedicated truck queue areas in a safe place.
Malaysia
There was serious congestion around the busiest Klang West Hong Kong dollar. As the congestion intensified, many wholesalers and retailers said that the container congestion in the West Port of Port Klang caused delivery delays for more than one month, which increased unnecessary costs.
The chairman of the Port Klang Authority, Datuk Zhang Shengwen, recently disclosed that after the container congestion problem occurred in the port of Klang, the bureau set up a working team headed by the Ministry of Transport. In the past month, the working team has implemented a number of countermeasures. The problem has been significantly improved. The waiting time for cargo ships to dock for loading and unloading has been drastically reduced from an average of 5 days last month to 24 hours. After taking timely response measures, the container congestion in Port Klang has been effectively improved and relieved. All refrigerated containers that have been stopped have been quarantined and cleared within one day.
Zhang Shengwen revealed that some shipping companies have also specially arranged additional cargo ships for this purpose, and the Port Authority has arranged for these cargo ships to dock first to speed up the time for loading and unloading cargo. In addition, transport agents and importers are also committed to taking away imported containers in advance to avoid storing them in the port area.
"Although the congestion problem in Port Klang is mainly caused by external factors, the Port Authority and the logistics industry will still take all responsibilities and strive to reduce the inconvenience of port users, especially during the coming February Lunar New Year." He said, appropriate During the Lunar New Year period, the volume of cargo will also be at a "peak" period. All parties will continue to maintain close cooperation to face problems together and respond appropriately to ensure timely and effective services for freight forwarders and shipping companies.
India
Due to the gradual weakening of the hurricane, the port of Katupali has resumed normal export shipments. The port is deploying all necessary resources to reduce berthing delays and quickly transshipment.
Nigeria
In Nigeria’s busiest ports, TinCan Port and Apapa Port in Lagos, due to port cargo congestion, no less than 43 ships loaded with various cargoes are currently trapped in the waters of Lagos. Due to the limited space in the port, many ships cannot enter and unload, and can only stay at sea.
The congestion in the port of Lagos is so serious that the cost of these trucks to transport a container 20 kilometers inland in Nigeria may exceed $4,000, which is almost equivalent to the cost of transporting 12,000 nautical miles from China. (Congestion caused importers to abandon the goods! 4000 overdue container cargoes will be auctioned!)
The ports of Apapa and Tinkan, which are the main entrances to Africa's largest economies, the economic recession triggered by the epidemic and the recent turmoil in the commercial capital of Nigeria have exacerbated the port’s long-term crisis. Dozens of container ships are stranded at sea due to congestion, and hundreds of trucks stay on the road for days or weeks, waiting to enter and exit the port.
At present, the port is extremely congested and the increase in ocean freight prices has stimulated the nerves of aviation traders. The goods exported by some manufacturers to the United States, due to unloaded unloading and delayed customs clearance, could not be delivered to the buyer’s warehouse on time, so they could only throw away the goods and abandon the goods, resulting in heavy losses. In the near future, pay attention to the development of major ports in time, so as to avoid problems and stop losses in time.
